History British freighter CC Thistlegorm | History British freighter CC Thistlegorm скачать в хорошем качестве

History British freighter CC Thistlegorm | History British freighter CC Thistlegorm

#Shipwreck #Wreck #ShipThistlegorm British freighter Thistlegorm She was built by J. L. Thompson and Sons in County Durham, north-east England. She was launched in 1940. Her registered length was 126 metres and her beam was 17 metres. She was built for the Albyn Line, who registered her in Sunderland. Her wireless telegraphy call sign was GLWQ. Thistlegorm was part-funded by the Ministry of War Transport. She was a Defensive Equipment Merchant Ship (DEMS) with a stern-mounted 120mm machine gun and a heavy machine gun for anti-aircraft cover. She made three successful voyages during her career. The first was to the USA to collect steel rails and aircraft parts, the second to Argentina for grain and the third to the West Indies for rum. She underwent a refit in Glasgow before her fourth and final voyage. The ship left Glasgow on her final voyage on 2 June 1941, bound for Egypt. Her cargo included Bedford lorries, Universal Carrier armoured cars, Norton 16H and BSA motorcycles, Bren guns, ammunition boxes and rifles, as well as radio equipment, Wellington boots, aircraft parts, railcars and two LMS Stanier class steam locomotives. These locomotives and their associated coal and water tenders were carried as deck freight destined for Egyptian National Railways. The remainder of the cargo was destined for Allied forces in Egypt. At the time HMS Thistlegorm sailed from Glasgow in June, these were the Western Desert Force, which had become part of the newly formed Eighth Army in September 1941. The ship's crew, under the command of Captain William Ellis, were augmented to handle the machine gun and anti-aircraft gun. Due to German and Italian naval and air force activity in the Mediterranean, Thistlegorm sailed in a convoy via Cape Town in South Africa, where she took refuge before sailing north along the east coast of Africa and into the Red Sea. After leaving Cape Town, the convoy was joined by the light cruiser HMS Carlisle. Due to a collision in the Suez Canal, the convoy was unable to pass through the canal to reach the port of Alexandria and instead moored at Safe Anchorage F, in September 1941, where she remained at anchor until her sinking on 6 October 1941. HMS Carlisle moored in the same anchorage. In September 1941, there was a large Allied troop build-up in Egypt, and German intelligence suspected that troop transports were in the area bringing in additional troops. Two Heinkel He 111 aircraft of Kampfgeschwader 26 were dispatched from Crete to search for and destroy the carrier. This search failed, but one of the bombers located the vessels moored at Safe Anchorage F. Targeting the largest of these, they dropped two 2.5-ton high explosive bombs on Thistlegorm, both of which hit Hold 4, aft of the steamer, at 01:30 on 6 October. The bomb and the explosion of some of the ammunition stored in Hold 4 caused the ship to sink with the loss of four sailors and five DEMS gunners. The survivors were picked up by HMS Carlisle. Captain Ellis was awarded the OBE for his actions after the explosion, and crewman Angus Macleay was awarded the George Medal and the Lloyds Military Medal for gallantry at sea for rescuing another crewman. Most of the cargo remained inside the ship, with the exception of the deck cargo engines, which were washed away on either side of the wreck. In the early 1950s, Jacques Cousteau discovered it using information from local fishermen. He recovered several items from the wreck, including a motorcycle, the captain's safe, and the ship's bell. The February 1956 issue of National Geographic clearly shows the ship's bell in place and Cousteau's divers in the room with the ship's lantern. Cousteau documented the dive on the wreck in part of his book, The Living Sea. In the early 1990s, Sharm el-Sheikh began to develop as a diving resort. Recreational diving on the Thistlegorm resumed after a visit by the dive boat Poolster using information from the captain of another Israeli fishing vessel. The massive explosion that sank her blew away much of the steamer's midship superstructure, making the wreck very accessible to divers. The depth of about 30 m at its deepest point is ideal for diving without the need for special equipment or training. The wreck attracts many divers due to the amount of cargo that can be seen and explored. Boots and motorcycles are visible in the hold. Trucks, motorcycles, rubber boots, rifles, Westland Lysander wings, about twenty exhaust rings from a Bristol Mercury radial engine and several cylinders and tail fins from a Bristol Blenheim bomber are visible in the hold. Nice to meet you here! Subscribe to the channel! Subscribe to the official channel "ALL ABOUT EVERYTHING" on YouTube:    / @vseobovsemm