File:Ar 196 catapult test 1947 NAN8-47.jpg

A German Arado Ar 196A-5 seaplane being catapulted in 1947 at the Naval Air Materiel Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA). The plane and the catapult were saved from the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen which was expended at the Bikini Atoll nucelar tests. The plane is now on display at the U.S. National Air and Space Museum (Smithonian Institution).

NASM description of the plane: "When the US Navy took custody of Prinz Eugen, they were more interested in the catapult system used to launch the floatplane rather than the Ar 196 but they saved two aircraft anyway. The NASM airplane has only 14 hours of operational flying time and U. S. Navy pilots added just four more hours during testing and evaluation at the Naval Air Materiel Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The '196 Werk-Nummer (serial number) is 623167 however the Navy evidently repainted the airplane with markings copied from a different aircraft. That floatplane bore the Stammkennzeichen code letters GA+DX and Werk-Nummer 68967. Today, the National Air and Space Museum's Ar 196A-5 still carries the bogus paint and markings of GA+DX. After years in storage, the Navy transferred the airplane to the Museum in 1961. It is now on display at the Paul E. Garber Facility in Silver Hill, Maryland."