Aviation history · Alimia Bay · Heraclea
Heraclea’s AradoA wartime aircraft beneath the Cyclades.
The researched story of an Arado Ar 196 seaplane: probably lost during the air battle south of Naxos in September 1943, recovered by fishermen decades later and now resting in the protected waters of Alimia Bay.
Research by Manolis Bardanis · 2009
Luftwaffe · Maritime reconnaissance · CycladesAlimia Bay · Heraclea · Greece
Aircraft · conflict · discovery
From the wartime skyto the floor of the Aegean.
The wreck at Alimia connects two histories: the maritime reconnaissance aircraft that disappeared during war and the extraordinary fishing catch that brought it back into view almost four decades later.
Built for maritime reconnaissance
The Arado Ar 196 was a two-seat German floatplane designed for operations over the sea. Carried aboard major warships and flown from coastal bases, it served in reconnaissance, convoy escort, coastal patrol and anti-submarine duties throughout the Second World War.
Powered by a BMW 132K radial engine, the aircraft combined twin floats with substantial armament. Approximately fifty-one Arado Ar 196 aircraft operated from bases in Greece, including Skaramanga, Souda, Kavala, Leros, Volos and Milos.
The probable final flight
The wreck’s identification remains open because its manufacturer’s plates disappeared before researchers could examine them. Evidence suggests that it may be Arado Ar 196 A-3 Werknummer 0185, carrying the code D1+EH of 1./Seeaufklärungsgruppe 126.
On 17 September 1943, an Arado crewed by pilot Fritz Schaar and observer Herbert Schneider escorted a German convoy sailing from Piraeus toward Rhodes. South of Naxos, the convoy met attacking RAF Beaufighters. The floatplane was probably shot down off Ios; its two crewmen ditched safely and were taken prisoner.
An impossible catch
Sometime between May and October 1982, the Naxian fishing vessel ROBINSON, commanded by Sarantis Economou, was trawling north-northeast of Ios toward Heraclea. At roughly ninety-one metres, its net caught something no fishing crew expected: a German seaplane.
To free their gear and avoid catching the wreck again, the fishermen towed it to the nearest sheltered water at Alimia Bay. There, with help from the fishing vessel AGIOS NEKTARIOS and its captain Nikitas Sorokos, they disentangled the aircraft and allowed it to settle to the seabed. Witnesses reported no human remains or personal belongings in the cockpit.
What remains at Alimia
The aircraft now rests at approximately eleven metres. Its accessible position made it vulnerable: weapons, instruments, cockpit controls and aluminium skin were removed over the years. The 160-kilogram propeller was raised in September 1990 and, like several other components, entered a private collection.
Today the skeletal fuselage, engine and remnants of the trawl net remain on the seabed. Historical research into the aircraft’s identity began in May 2006 and continues to rely on archival evidence, witness accounts and surviving components. Until a conclusive identifier is found, the precise identity must remain a carefully supported possibility rather than a certainty.
