U-21 was a military version of the Beechcraft “King Air”, which is the most produced civilian turboprop aircraft with over 3,100 units built from 1963 to 2021. In service with the US military, the twin-engine eight-seater carried out functions such as transport of high-ranking officers and other VIPs, medical evacuation and cargo transport. The special version RU-21A served electronic warfare, reconnaissance and radio communications tasks. The passengers of a Greek ferry were probably astonished when they witnessed an airplane ditching about 11 nautical miles from the town of Anavyssos in Attica in July 1985. The 18-year-old RU-21A UTE of the US Army with the registration number 67-18112 was traveling from Aviano, Italy to Greece with three other military aircraft when it suffered a mechanical defect shortly before Athens airport. According to further information, the association started in Germany and had targeted Israel as its final destination with stopovers in Italy and Greece. The three-man crew consisting of the pilot, co-pilot and radio operator were rescued by the ferry crew in a few minutes and then taken to the American embassy. The machine sank shortly afterwards. In the years that followed, she probably got caught in the trawl nets of a fishing boat that took her to her today’s location in front of the town of Palaia Fokaia. This action also explains the severe destruction of the wreck. The photos of the rescue operation show that the plane landed at sea largely intact (link).
See also: addicted2h2o & ww2wrecks
The dive
Our team #kostafastgarnix dived the wrack in September 2023 .
The wreck of the Beechcarft lies upside down at a depth of 6 meters just 100 meters from a slip ramp and is therefore a popular destination for recreational divers. Anyway, finding the wreck can be quite tricky if the visibility is not too good. The stern, parts of the engine nacelles and the wings are missing. Many individual parts, such as fragments of the tail unit and elevator, radio and power generator, are scattered within a radius of approx. 50 meters, making the otherwise very short dive (originally the aircraft was only 12 m long with a wingspan of 13.5 m). ) can be expanded to include an exciting “scavenger hunt”.
The model
Small 3D model, just one piece. You can find the 3D-files in my Download area.
Drawing
My buddy Alexey (der Wrackzeichner) dived with me and made this artwork of the wreck.
