Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia


Luftwaffe Arado Ar 196A-2 (OU+AR) taxiing
Role	Reconnaissance
Manufacturer	Arado
Designer	Walter Blume
First flight	May 1937
Introduction	November, 1938
Primary users	Kriegsmarine Bulgarian Air Force Finnish Air Force
Produced	1938–44
Number built	541

The Ar 196 was designed in response to the Kriegsmarine's requirement to replace the Heinkel He 60 biplane after the intended successor, the He 114, had proved to be unsatisfactory. Arado submitted a monoplane design to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (German Air Ministry, RLM) while all competing bids were for biplanes; the RLM decided to order four prototypes of the Ar 196 in late 1936. Testing of these prototypes during late 1937 revealed their favourable performance characteristics, leading to production being authorised and formal service tests commencing in the opening weeks of 1939. Starting in November 1939, production switched to the heavier land-based Ar 196 A-2 model; it would be followed by several more models until production of the type was terminated during August 1944.

The Arado Ar 196 was a shipboard reconnaissance low-wing monoplane aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado. It was the standard observation floatplane of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) throughout the Second World War, and was the only German seaplane to serve throughout the conflict.

Arado AR196 naval reconnaissance floatplane in the collection of the Bulgarian Air Force Museum at the airport in Plovdiv

Operational history

During the war they served under Bordfliegergruppe (Ship Aviation Group) 196 and with seven SAGr (Seeaufklärungsgruppen/Naval Reconnaissance Groups), KG 100 and KG 200, and Küstenfliegergruppe 706, from operational bases i virtually every European, Mediterranean and Balkan theatre of operation. All capital ships of the Kriegsmarine were equipped with Ar 196s:.

Arado FlugzeugwerkeHeinkel Ar-196

Arado Flugzeugwerke
Arado Ar-196 A-5 reconnaissance

Info Ar-196

Crew: two (pilot and observer)
Length: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
Wingspan: 12.4 m (40 ft 8 in)
Height: 4.45 m (14 ft 7 in)
Wing area: 28.4 m² (306 sq ft)

Powerplant

Empty weight: 2,990 kg Max takeoff weight: 3,720 kg Powerplant: 1 × BMW 132W nine-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 782 kW (1,050 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 332 km/h
Range: 1,080 km
Service ceiling: 7,010 m
Rate of climb: 1,200 ft/min

Armament

- Guns: * 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 81Z machine gun
- 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine gun
- 2 × 20 mm (0.787 in) MG FF/M cannon
- Bombs: * 2 × 50 kg (110.231 lb) bombs

Special Links Heinkel Flugzeugwerke

Links to Youtube & Others

The inaccuracy of horizontal bombing during the Ural bomber program demonstrated weaknesses in German bombsights and created doubts about the effectiveness of level bombing of factories.

Arado Flugzeugwerke Arado Ar-196 A-5

During development, the anticipated weight of the He 177 increased so much that a main undercarriage design sufficient to handle the 32 metric tons.

Youtube Link

On 9 November 1939, the first prototype, the He 177 V1, was flown for the first time with Dipl. Ing. Leutnant Carl Francke, then chief of the Rechlin central flight test center, at the controls. T

Arado Flugzeugwerke
Arado Ar-196
Shipborn reconnaissance