PACOZ BAY (C-47 DACOTA PLANE WRECK)

Pacoz Bay with its C-47 Dakota Plane Wreck is an advanced dive site near Bodrum in the Aegean Sea, where the remains of a military transport aircraft rest on the seabed creating one of Turkey's most unique and atmospheric underwater attractions. The combination of aviation history and marine colonization makes this site unlike any conventional reef or shipwreck dive, offering a genuinely different underwater experience. The C-47 Dakota, a workhorse military transport aircraft used extensively during and after World War Two, lies on the sandy Aegean bottom where it has become an artificial reef of unusual character. The aircraft's distinctive twin-engine silhouette is still recognizable despite the marine growth that has softened its angular lines. The fuselage, wings, and tail section create a surreal underwater landscape that captures the imagination of every diver who visits. Marine life has colonized the aircraft with enthusiasm. The metal surfaces support sponges, algae, and encrusting organisms, while fish have adopted the fuselage and wing structures as shelter. Groupers hover near the engines, sea bream school around the tail section, and the various crevices of the airframe harbor Mediterranean invertebrates. The aircraft creates habitat where none existed naturally on the sandy bottom. The plane wreck at Pacoz Bay is a genuinely unique diving experience. The surreal quality of swimming around a military aircraft on the Aegean seabed, surrounded by Mediterranean marine life, creates an encounter that is as thought-provoking as it is visually striking. For advanced divers visiting Bodrum, this aviation artifact turned artificial reef is an unmissable experience.