This two-seat low-wing floatplane served as a maritime patrol aircraft and was manufactured in Germany in 1937. Primary duties consisted of reconnaissance and shadowing of service vessels, including submarine-hunting. The flight deck is mostly glass and the crew has a perfect view. There are two 20 mm guns installed under the wings, protected under coverings to preserving them from seawater. They open only in case of gunfire. These planes served Bulgaria mostly in the Black Sea and this craft is one of twelve AR-196's which the Bulgarian Navy operated during World War II from an airbase at Varna from 1941 - 1944.

The engine is a BMW-made 132K nine-cylinder radial with a rating of 960 hp. The wingspan is 12.4 meters, and the plane has a length of 11 meters with a height of 4.4 meters. It achieved a speed of 310km/h. This was the last combat floatplane built in Europe.

Group-captain George Kolbe was commander of the naval reconnaissance section 125 (SAGr. 125) in the Black Sea region, stationed in Varna, Konstanza and other ports in the period from 1941 to 1944. The twelve aircraft arrived in Bulgaria in the summer of 1943, after they had been overhauled in the “Bahman” factory in Ribnitz and outfitted according to Kolbe's specifications. Bulgaria is the only country that was officially supplied with these craft. After their arrival, the aircraft Arado AR-196 were given the code-name ”Shark”. Towards September 9, 1944 no more than 8 of the original twelve “Sharks” remained in use.