The Thistlegorm, best wreck of the world ?

[Cornbread O'Malley]

But if they're in the same condition as the rest of the cars they're probably not recognizable as locomotives.

The locomotive on the port side is easily recognizable.

 

[lermontov]

Witch one do you like the most then ?

Ive done a fair few wreck and id break into into a few categories -a) historically significant - b) visually stunning - C) good penetration diving

The I1 japanese submarine whist being a crappy wreck dive is incredibly interesting due to the recovery of Japanese code books that changed the course of the Guadacanal campaign> The rainbow warrior also a ho hum dive but significant for New zealanders as this was a Greenpeace ship that protested the anti nuclear testing and eventually got bombed by two french secret agents ( in port and in peace time) caused a huge scandal here

visually its hard to beat the Aron ward in solomons - she's getting tired now but it sits upright in 70m and stil has the guns point out in the firing position as its went down - theres still boxes of ammo on the decks and earlier this year i discovered human remains in the rear engine room area- the US have a special task force that repatriate remains

the Mikhail Lermontov is by far the best penetration diving on a wreck Ive done- some easy and some very difficult -its my local wreck so ive dived it a LOT, John chatterton called it the Andrea Doria of the south, the zenobia is also pretty good penetration diving in the engine room and and auxiliary engine room areas.

Ive done a few video s on the Lermontov and other wrecks - you can enjoy here

peter taw

A video collection of wreck diving on the Mikhail Lermontov- a world class dive site situated in Port Gore -a remote part of Marlborough Sounds New Zealand. Access is by Via water taxi and road transport -GO Dive Pacific is the local dive operator, find him on the internet

www.youtube.com

 

[passeparici]

he Thistlegorm is an interesting wreck, but aside from the crates full of motorcycles, a few cars and trucks (mostly deteriorated) as well as some rusted out deck guns, tanks and train cars that make this dive better than an average wreck

"aside from".......... Hey all that is what makes the Thistlegorm stands aside. That makes a lot compare to the majority of the wrecks.
Also if you dive there several time there are also many places to discover so it is not only the cargo (but without the cargo it would be "normal")

the Thistlegorm doesn't hold a candle to most of the wrecks we dived in Truk

In Truk what is particular is the number of the wrecks but each one doesn't impress me that much ( I have only watch videos though, but many). I still think the Thistlegorm by itself is one of the greatest and I am not the only one as it comes back in every standing made by divers.
Now if you like wrecks, Coron and Truk are top for sure

 

[runsongas]

those surveys are popularity contests, like if you surveyed best restaurant in paris, chez paul or le relais de l'entrecote would probably win for the same reasons (accessible price and its where all the tourists go)

heian with the long lance torpedoes, nagano/hoki with the construction equipment, san francisco for the tanks/ordinance, fujikawa for r2d2 and the zero fighter, and shinkoku with its soft coral all are better dives than the thistlegorm.

 

[Ez E]

Sounds cool.

 

[schuylerclark]

What's interesting to me is that everybody has their own criteria for what they find interesting in a wreck, so "best" is always a subjective evaluation. Personally, I'm there to see what the ocean and the fauna have done to inhabit the wreck and break it down, so the historical significance or presence of certain cargo is of lesser importance. The notion of preserving a wreck for historical significance seems like a losing proposition anyway, unless by scanning and 3D modeling or something. The very nature of a shipwreck is that it's going to be broken down by the sea eventually, so we're all just there observing a moment in that process.

 

[passeparici]

Yes at the end it is highly subjective !

 

[LI-er]

we did another dive, it was a drift around an island on the site known as Shaabruhr Umm Gammar. In the briefing there was a wreck pictured (see sketch, lower right)

In front if it appeared to be several locomotives, easily distinguishable as such, at least to me.

 

[LI-er]

"aside from".......... Hey all that is what makes the Thistlegorm stands aside. That makes a lot compare to the majority of the wrecks.

I still think the Thistlegorm by itself is one of the greatest and I am not the only one as it comes back in every standing made by divers.

Upon reviewing and editing my videos post-trip, I retract my negative statements about the Thistlegorm.

There was actually a lot of cool stuff on it, and yes especially when you compare it to most wrecks.

 

[Christian]

I don’t like wrecks that much, but love the Thistlegorm. With some luck with the conditions and crowds it’s a fabolous dive. Haven’t dived her since 2017. Had two dives as the only boat on site, calm and very clear water. I might give an edge to Umbrea in Port Sudan.