Visit Catalina Seaplane Wreckage, Ras Al-Sheikh Humaid, Saudi Arabia

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This 1930’s World War II PBY Catalina Seaplane wreck is near the beautiful sandy cape of Ras Al-Sheikh Hameed in the north-west province of Tabuk. Los Angeles industrialist Thomas W. Kendall bought three surpluse Catakina's in the 1950's. He converted the amphibious planes into luxurious floating suites. In 1959, the Kendalls embarked on their around-the-world voyage bringing along their four children and some friends. On March 22, 1960 Kendall and his family were leaving the Luxor in Egypt and were planning to fly towards to the Euphrates River near Baghdad and while flying over Saudi Arabia’s north-west coast they liked what they saw and decided to land. The main issue for them was that they did not have permission to land in Saudi Arabia. The next day the Catalina came under fire from local tribesmen, fearing it was an invading aircraft - there was a ot of tension in the nearby area between Israel and Egypt. The barrage of gunfire lasted around 30 minutes, with the plane estimated to have withstood around 300 rounds. Luckily neither Kendall, his family nor any of the others were injured – the same could not be said for the Catalina, which suffered extensive damage rendering it unfit for flying. After being taken to Jeddah, the Kendalls returned to the United States, but the plane has remained in the sand ever since. Accessible to tourists, a fence has been built around it to both protect it and to discourage people from trying to climb it.

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