Gulen & the Sognefjord · Norway · Wreck
SS Frankenwald
Anemone-covered superstructure on an upright 122 m freighter
Area photo: Bernard Picton · CC BY-SA 4.0
SS Frankenwald is a 122 m German freighter that foundered in the narrows north of the Sognefjord in 1940 and now sits upright on the seabed off Gulen. It is the signature wreck of the area: a big steel hull in great condition whose superstructure is smothered in anemones, with a deck deep enough to need deep training.
Also known as Frankenwald, S/S Frankenwald, DS Frankenwald.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Gulen & the Sognefjord and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The deck lies at 24 to 34 m (80 to 110 ft), and the superstructure climbs from 20 m to 7 m, every surface of it encased in anemones and teeming with critters and little fish. Below and aft, the stern rests on sand at 44 m and, seen from behind, looks almost like a submarine's conning tower. After the time on the wreck, divers ascend the ship's aft mast for the safety stop.
The wreck
- Vessel
- SS Frankenwald
- Type
- German freighter
- Length
- 122 m (400 ft)
- Built
- 1922
- Sunk
- 1940
- Cause
- Caught by the current in the narrows north of the Sognefjord, foundered and sank
- Lies
- Upright, deck at 24–34 m (80–110 ft) and stern on sand at 44 m
The Frankenwald was built at Deutsche Werft AG in Hamburg in 1922. On 6 January 1940 the German freighter was caught by the current in the narrows north of the Sognefjord, foundered and sank within an hour and a half, coming to rest upright on the bottom off the Norwegian west coast, where she became one of the best-known wreck dives in Norway.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Gulen & the Sognefjord: Diving runs all year: winter brings the clearest water and the helmet jellyfish, spring and summer the best conditions.
Dive videos
A dive on the wreck of the Frankenwald, Norway · Dory Video on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification does the Frankenwald wreck need?+
The deck lies at 24 to 34 m, deeper than Open Water limits, so divers need Advanced Open Water with deep training. The stern on the sand reaches 44 m; the superstructure rises to 7 m and gives a shallower end for the dive.
Sources
- Gulen Dive Resort, Norway — X-Ray Mag
- Norway's most famous wreck — Dykking.no
More dive sites in Gulen & the Sognefjord
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Muck & macro
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Wall
Granite face that rises out of the fjord and plunges past 45 m
Similar dives elsewhere
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A cannon still on its wooden carriage aboard a frigate lost in 1678
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Isle of Skye · United Kingdom
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