Recovering Arado Ar-196: Aegean Sea Wreck Raised 1,570 ft

Описание: Arado Ar-196 was accidentally hauled from the Aegean Sea—between Naxos and Ikaria—after the trawler Fearless II snagged a heavy obstruction at roughly 1,570 ft (480 m). With no ROV, no survey grid, and no preservation plan, the fishing net became the lifting sling in a true aircraft recovery—an industrial wreckage recovery driven by winch tension, not archaeology.

What rose in the “Trawl Net Cradle” wasn’t scrap: a coherent Arado Ar-196 airframe section with a nine-cylinder radial engine and wing structure still recognizable under marine encrustation. We break down why deep, dark, low-oxygen water can slow decay—and why Arado Ar-196 becomes most fragile the second it clears the surface: oxygen exposure, drying, and chloride salts triggering rapid corrosion.

From blind-drag surge loads to the physics of lifting a waterlogged aircraft, this documentary follows the hoist moment—and the “Desalination Clock” that starts immediately after recovery. Delivered to the Hellenic Air Force Museum at Dekelia, the mission shifts to wet storage and controlled desalination to keep Arado Ar-196 from exfoliation corrosion and structural delamination.
Subscribe for more aviation recovery, rescue, and investigation documentaries.
Disclaimer : Educational documentary; details may be simplified for historical/technical discussion.