By Alicia Johnson, Graduate Researcher, Alexandria Centre For Maritime Archaeology & Underwater Cultural Heritage. You can follow Alicia and keep up with her work on X @aloof_nerd and Instagram @aloofnerd. The captivating tale of Thistlegorm is an enduring testament to North African WWII history. This sunken relic serves as both a somber grave and a remarkable monument, while also emerging as a vibrant symbol of Egyption tourism and global diving adventures. This is the tale of a WWII-era commercial freighter, meticulously retrofitted by the British Navy in Glasgow, which eventually met its fate off the Southwest coast of the Sinai during a dramatic Nazi Luftwaffe air raid in 1941. With a crew of 42, the monumental 126-meter Thistlegorm stands as a transformed Albyn Line merchant ship, armed with 4.7” anti-aircraft cannons and heavy-caliber machine guns—a silent witness to wartime endeavors. Laden with a diverse cargo including bombs, trucks, motorbikes, Wellington boots, rifles, shells, and even aircraft wings, along with a pair of locomotives, this underwater time capsule paints a vivid picture of its historic voyage. For nearly six decades since Jacques Cousteau's groundbreaking 1955 discovery, the Thistlegorm wreck has evolved into a premier diving haven. Recognized as the pinnacle by none other than PADI, which bestowed upon it the prestigious title of the World's Best Wreck in 2022, this underwater wonder to beckon adventure seekers. However, the surge in tourism witnessed over the past twenty years has not been without consequences, casting a shadow of strain and gradual degradation upon this once-pristine site. Read More | 
