Thanks all for the info. No, I don't know the name of the ship, and yes, I have a location. Have been there a couple of times. I also know that it was salvaged shortly after the war so any bullion that may have been onboard would not be there today. Was just thinking about hitting the site again and look for any "scraps" that may have not been recovered. Doubtful, but still worth a couple of day's diving just to have fun and maybe get lucky.
The ship appears to be a Liberty ship that was cut in half by a torpedo as the ship was making a run for safe haven in the port of Marsa Matruh. The forward half of the ship continued to move ahead as the aft section seperated and sank in deeper water. The ship is currently resting upright with the top of the pilothouse just beneath the surface of the water at low tide and what used to be the second deck is at about 22 meters approximately 100 meters from the foot of Rommel's Cave seaside access. The decks inside the superstructure have all collapsed and lay on the bottom inside. Interesting dive as the major part of the engineering plant is exposed and one can pretty much see the entire layout of the boiler(s), main engine, and the feed pumps. There is a debris field which trails well aft of the ship into deeper waters of 60+ meters that I have not had the opportunity to see yet since it is so difficult, and expensive, to get NITROX and Tri-Mix gas mixes here on the north coast of Egypt.
Am currently reading "The Hunters and the Hunted" by Jochen Brennecke (German war correspondent/journalist who served in the German navy) which was published in 1952 and details operations of many of the U-boats that operated from 1939 until the end of the war. Hoping for a clue as to the events of the sinking and possibly a clue to the identity of the ship.
Cablava, the Thistlegorm did carry bullion at some point during the war. And you are correct in saying that there is no bullion there now. But there are LOTS of Morgan Trucks, Communication vehicles, BSA motorcycles, and Enfield rifles, as well as a locomotive engine and some rail cars. Quite a bit of unexploded ordnance in the aft section as well. Have dove there at least a dozen times over the past 4-5 years. Unfortunately, the wreck has suffered at the hands of the thousands of recreational divers that have dove on it over the years and the Egyptian government is now considering closing it to diving due the amount of exhaled air that is trapped inside the ship and causing it to decay at a fairly rapid rate.
Again, thanks all for the info.
Mike
