Aircraft · Germany · 1938-1944

Arado Ar 196

catapult-launched reconnaissance floatplane

Developed to a 1936 requirement for a shipboard scout to replace the Heinkel He 60, the Ar 196 was catapulted from German capital ships including Bismarck, Tirpitz and the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee to search for enemy shipping. It was the only German seaplane to serve throughout the war, and one of Graf Spee's aircraft spotted the British cruiser HMS Cumberland off the River Plate in time to avoid battle. Its crews also captured the surrendering British submarine HMS Seal in 1940.

Wikipedia

Battle of the Atlantic, Mediterranean and North Africa