SS Yongala
Queensland, AU · 16–30 m · often 10–20 m · Jun–Oct popular
Sank 1911; a protected historic shipwreck on the GBR with dense fish. Typically dived as an exterior.
These wrecks are real and famous. Depths are typical published bands, not a live plan. Penetration is not implied.
A protected historic wreck is a museum that happens to be wet.
Points
SS Thistlegorm
Red Sea, Egypt · 16–30 m · often 15–30 m · year-round
Sank 1941; cargo (trucks, BSA bikes) made it a mass wreck. Holds are overhead.
USS Kittiwake
Grand Cayman · 4–20 m · often 20–30 m · year-round
A purpose-sunk 2011 artificial reef, shallower and more planned than a war grave.
Coron wrecks (Irako / Olympia Maru)
Palawan, PH · 16–30 m · often 8–20 m · Nov–May drier
1944 fleet. Some wrecks are recreational exteriors; many penetrations are technical.
SMS / Scapa Flow wrecks
Orkney, UK · 12–45 m · cold, variable · summer neaps
The 1919 German fleet scuttle; cold, tidal, historic. Not a tropics holiday.
USAT Liberty
Tulamben, Bali · 4–30 m · often 10–20 m · year-round, current
A shore-accessible 1942 wreck that became a rec classic — crowded, current-prone, easy to silt.
Fujikawa Maru (Truk/Chuuk)
Chuuk, FSM · 8–34 m · often 10–20 m · year-round lagoon
Operation Hailstone 1944; Truk’s wrecks are a technical and historical pilgrimage.
RMS Rhone
British Virgin Islands · 6–24 m · often 15–25 m · year-round
Sank 1867 in a hurricane; a Caribbean rec wreck with a stern in shallower water.
Tips
- Read the legal status — Grave, historic, or artificial reef.
- Exterior photos are enough — Most of the beauty is on the hull.
- Current at the funnel — Wrecks create their own water.
- Do not invent a penetration — If the brief did not include a line, there is no line.
Famous wrecks are museums and graves. The holiday is an exterior circuit.