ARADO AR 196 Plane Wreck, Heraklia

Location: Cyclades, Greece

Also known as: Alimia Plane Wreck Heraklia, Arado plane, Heraklia Floatplane Wreck

Max depth: 11m · Difficulty: Open Water · Coordinates: 36.827134, 25.421267

Tags: Wreck, Boat Dive, Shallow, Snorkel-Friendly

The ARADO AR 196 in Alimia Bay, Heraklia (Lesser Cyclades) is a World War II German reconnaissance floatplane (Luftwaffe callsign D1+EH) shot down during the Aegean Dodecanese Campaign on September 17, 1943. While flying an escort and reconnaissance mission for a German naval convoy (UJ 2104, Paula, and Pluto) en route from Piraeus to Rhodes, the aircraft was intercepted near Naxos and badly damaged by British RAF Bristol Beaufighters. Pilot Fritz Schaar executed a skillful emergency water ditching, and both he and observer Herbert Schneider were pulled from the sea alive by escort vessel UJ 2104 with zero casualties (both survived the war as POWs in Egypt). The aircraft originally sank in deep water at approximately 91 meters. Its current accessible location is the result of a remarkable incident in October 1982, when local fisherman Captain Sarantis Oikonomou snagged the plane in his deep-sea fishing nets. To untangle his nets without destroying the airframe, he towed the aircraft into the sheltered cove of Alimia Bay and submerged it in shallow water at 9 to 11 meters depth. Resting upside down on pristine white sand, the inverted fuselage frame, engine, and float struts form one of the most accessible and celebrated historical aircraft dive sites in the Aegean.

Marine life: Documented species observed at the plane wreck include damselfish, octopus, moray eels, fireworms, tubeworms, and schools of sea bream.

Access: Accessible by dive boat from Heraklia (Agios Georgios port), Naxos, or Paros, anchored inside the sheltered cove of Alimia Bay.

Safety: Depth is shallow (9 to 11 meters) with calm, pool-like sea conditions and visibility up to 30 meters. Suitable for Open Water divers and snorkelers. Do not stand on or touch the fragile historic aluminum structure.

Associated Diving Centers