Update – The Captain’s Room

Filling in the Gaps

After scanning the SS Thistlegorm last year we knew  much had been covered, but there were areas missed. The stern crew quarters was one area, and the Captain’s Room another. The crew quarters were a little cramped to squeeze the camera in but the Captain’s Room – the area directly below the bridge – was simply overlooked.

Completing this room became a priority. There were details in the room that would have to be included…in the planned book. The team realised the model and 360 videos could do more and deliver more. The level of detail in the ortho photos is difficult to convey on the web but would work well in an iBook. Tentative plans were put in place and the research started pulling in known and new information.

Vehicles in Detail

Clearly a big focus on the book would be the cargo. Professional photographer Alex Mustard had done much to kill a few myths and positively identify many of the vehicles so why not collaborate and produce an image-and-detail rich guide to the wreck?

So late last year Alex and the rest of the team started to assemble the book content, merging the 3D models, video and Alex’s stunning images documenting what the Thistlegorm was carrying when she sank.

The missing Captain’s Room had to be remedied and an opportunity arose. Alex was due to visit the Thistlegorm some 12 months after the survey and would have time to shoot the images needed. Simon picked up the images and processed them into the finished 3D model, creating an ortho photo and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) before assembling the room into the rest of the wreck.

Paper or Digital?

When choosing how to lay the book out one thing became obvious: traditional paper would work but would restrict us greatly on what images to show or how to present the ortho photos. That was apparent before we considered what to do with the 3D models.

So we chose to exploit what iBooks can offer – an image-rich format with 3D content on the pages. The iBook has been designed with this in mind. We are not simply taking a paper book and making it available electronically…the subject and content really have pushed us in this direction.

The Captain’s Room 3D model is here:

Publication Date

It has taken a long time to research and confirm or refute what is known about the Thistlegorm has taken time. Care on layout & design, fact checking and attention to detail is being refined, and we are all working towards one date:

October 6th 2018

Watch this space. The definitive iBook is coming.