Sunken World War II Plane Becomes Underwater Playground

 By 
Melissa Goldin
 on 
Sunken World War II Plane Becomes Underwater Playground
Russian free-divers (not pictured) recently explored a sunken World War Two-era plane at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Credit: NOAA's National Ocean Service

This isn't your ordinary playground.

A World War II-era plane used to transport Turkish troops now serves another purpose as an underground exploration site for divers in the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, the Daily Mail reports.

A recent expedition by Russian free-divers was captured by a Ukrainian underwater photographer.

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Divers did not use any kind of breathing apparatuses to reach the aircraft, which is situated 21 meters below surface. They had to swim back up every two minutes for fresh air -- not everyone in the group reached the plane on their first attempt.

"The plane was so well preserved, it looked as it were resting on an airfield runway," Andrey Nekrasov, the photographer, told the Daily Mail. "It looked unusual and beautiful."

One photo shows the plane's cavernous fuselage -- its main body section -- lined with sea life. Many others feature divers inspecting the aircraft and swimming around it.

The Douglas Dakota DC-3 was deliberately sent to the bottom of the sea near Cas, Turkey, in July 2009. Despite the fact that it is now rusting and covered with algae, it is still in fairly good condition, considering its new underwater home.

Approximately 13,000 DC-3s were made after the first one took flight in 1935. Ten years later, production on the model ceased, but some are still used to carry cargo in developing countries.

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