Arado Ar 196A-5 seaplane being catapulted in 1947 at the Naval Air Materiel Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Arado Ar 196 in United States Service

Arado Ar 196 in United States Service

The United States acquired several Arado Ar 196A-5 floatplanes along with the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen at the end of World War Two. These were tested in the US, along with the catapult system which was removed from the ship.

Later they were demonstrated to the media. For this presentation, they were marked with spurious and highly inaccurate German markings. As the demonstration included a catapult launch, even this was marked – something not done in German service.