Aviation of World War II

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Ar.76

Ar.76
  • Training Fighter
  • First flight: 1934
  • Arado

One of the very first specifications issued by the Technical Department of the Goering Commissariat concerned the creation of a light single-seat aerobatic aircraft, which, if necessary, could become the so-called "home defense fighter". In peacetime, the aircraft was to be used as a training fighter. The importance of this task is confirmed by the fact that the commissariat offered to start work on it immediately to four firms Arado, Focke-Wulf, Heinkel and Henschel. The idea of a pocket fighter was not new in Germany: the commissariat had already prepared such requirements in the twenties, and now the Technical Department defined the aircraft as a high-wing aircraft with an air-cooled eight-cylinder Argus As-10C engine and one or two 7.9 mm machine guns. In the autumn of 1934, the specifications were supplemented by the requirement to install at least two machine guns and three 10 kg bombs. In the version of the training aircraft, the armament was reduced to one machine gun.

The Arado Ar.76 project was created according to a principle similar to Ar.65 and Ar.68. It was a parasol monoplane with a steel tube fuselage and fabric covering. The forward fuselage had a light alloy coating. The wooden structure wing with fabric covering was attached to the fuselage by means of parallel struts. It was possible to install two MG-17 machine guns on the upper part of the fuselage, and behind the fire wall there was a compartment for three vertically suspended bombs.

The first experimental Ar.76a (D-ISEN) was completed in 1934. In the spring of 1935, the Ar.76V-2 (D-IRAS) flew, followed shortly by the Ar.76V-3. The two new aircraft differed from the Ar.76a that crashed at the beginning of the tests by some changes in the plumage. In general, the characteristics of the machine were excellent, but at the final stage of testing the Arado aircraft was relegated to second place by the Focke-Wulf Fw.56 Stesser. However, a small series of Ar.76A took place to duplicate the Fw.56 program. The aircraft were delivered in the spring of 1936 to fighter aviation schools. As a result of minor changes in the design and equipment, the empty and takeoff weight of the Ar.76A increased by 45 and 50 kg compared to the V2 and V3, but this had little effect on flight performance.

Ar.76 a-0 Specification
Crew 1
Dimensions
Wing span, m 9.50
Wing area, m² 12.90
Height, m 2.54
Length, m 7.20
Powerplant
1 PE Argus As 10C 240 л.с.
Weight, kg
Empty weight 750
Gross weight 1070
Performance
Maximum speed, km/h 266
Cruise speed, km/h 220
Service ceiling, m 6400
Service range, km 470
Armament
In the fighter version - two 7.9 mm MG-17 machine guns with 250 rounds per barrel and three 10 kg bombs
in the UTI version - one MG-17 with 250 rounds
Photo Descriptionе
DRawing Arado 76

Drawing Arado 76


Ar.96

Ar.96
  • Trainer aircraft
  • First flight: 1938
  • Arado

Ar.96 was the main training aircraft of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. In total, more than 11,500 vehicles were built, some of which were actively used even after the end of the war.

The first of them, Ar 96 V1, was flown at the end of 1938. It was equipped with an Argus As 10С engine and reached speeds of up to 325 km/h. However, during the tests, various shortcomings were revealed, so the Ar 96 VI underwent a major revision. The instructor's and cadet's seats were somewhat raised, which improved visibility from the cockpit, but forced the cockpit canopy to be redesigned; the aircraft received a new wing and a redesigned middle part of the fuselage, as well as a modified landing gear - with an increased gauge.

However, the power of the power plant no longer corresponded to the new version of the aircraft, it was decided to install a new, more powerful 12-cylinder V-shaped air-cooled engine with an inverted cylinder block Argus As 410, although it still required some refinement. In 1938, the first Ar 96 VI, which took part in flight tests, was joined by three more prototypes.

However, due to the shortage of As 410 engines, at first serial aircraft of the Ar 96A-1 modification were produced with the As 10 engine.

The main serial modification of the Ar 96B entered production in 1940 and was equipped with an Argus As 410A-1 engine with an 465 horsepower. With. and a two-bladed propeller. Outwardly, this modification did not differ much from the A-1 variant, with the exception of the fuselage length increased by 35 cm due to the installation of a larger engine. The latter also required strengthening the design, which, along with an increased fuel supply, led to an increase in the mass of the equipped vehicle to 1695 kg.

The main serial production of the Ar 96 was organized at the enterprise of the German company "Ago-Flugzeugwerke" (owned by the company "Junkers"), and in occupied Czechoslovakia, the companies "Avia" (from mid-1941) and "Letov" (with end of 1943). Czech factories eventually produced most of the 11,546 Ar 96 aircraft.

There were several sub-variants of the Ar 96B modification. Following the basic unarmed version of the Ar 96V-1, the Ar 96V-2 followed, armed with a 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun (or photo machine gun) and used for air rifle training. The Ar 96V-3 variant had almost no design changes, but the Ar 96V-5, also intended for aerial firearms training, was equipped with a FuG 16ZY radio station, and underwing bomb racks were worked out on the Ar 96V-6 variant (subsequently, this modification went into series under the designation Ar 96V-7 and was used to train pilots of attack aircraft and dive bombers). A modification of the aircraft for air gunnery training was also produced, distinguished by the presence of a guided machine gun installed in the rear cockpit.

Built in the amount of only one pre-series batch, the Ar 96C was a development of the Ar 96B and was equipped with a more powerful As 410C engine with an output of 480 hp. e., and also had a small window in the lower part of the fuselage, which made it possible to use it for training scorers. The Ar 296 variant, created on the basis of the Ar 96, with a 600-horsepower As 411 engine did not go into series (the military preferred the Ar 396 variant).

Ar.96 B-2 Specification
Crew 2
Dimensions
Wing span, m 11.00
Wing area, m² 17.10
Height, m 2.60
Length, m 9,10
Powerplant
1 PE Argus As 410 A-1, power hp. 465
Weights, kg
Empty weight 1,259
Gross weight 1,700
Performance
Maximum speed, km/h 330
Cruise speed, km/h 295
Maximum rate of climb, m/min 452
Service ceiling, m 7,100
Service range, km 990
Armament
It is possible to install a 7.92-mm machine gun MG-17

The Luftwaffe used the Ar 96 in their flying schools, fighter training wings, retraining squadrons and officer schools for advanced flight training, night instrument flight training. During the Second World War, Ar 96s formed the core of training fighter squadrons (Jagdschulgeschwader) and were part of 13 groups.

The allies of Nazi Germany also actively operated aircraft of this type. The Hungarian Air Force received 65 Ar 96A aircraft and 45 Ar 96B modification machines, the possibility of organizing a licensed production of the aircraft at the local MAVAG enterprise was considered (the company was able to build only one Ar 96B from imported components in 1944). The Slovak Air Force had one Ar 96A and three Ar 96B.

Arado's management planned to switch from the Ar 96 to the production of the Ar 296 modification, equipped with a more powerful Argus 411 engine, but the lack of various structural materials and equipment led to the fact that preference was given to the Ar 396, in the design of which the use of modern light metal alloys.

Photo Description
Drawing Arado 96

Drawing Arado 96

Ar.199

Ar.199
  • Training seaplane
  • First flight: 1939
  • Arado

Ar.199 was designed as a training seaplane. According to the project, it was supposed to be an all-metal two-float low-wing aircraft. The cabin was designed for three people: an instructor and a cadet sat next to each other, and the seat of a navigator or radio operator was placed behind. Characteristic was the complex frame attachment of the floats to the fuselage. The machine was equipped with a 12-cylinder air-cooled Argus As 410C engine with a capacity of 450 hp. With. The first prototype flew in 1939.

Designed for a new seaplane training mission, the Ar 199 was a technical success, but fell victim to a change in official policy, never reaching full production.

Ar.199 V-2 Specification
Crew 3
Dimensions
Wing span, m 12.70
Wing area, m² 30.40
Height, m 4.36
Length, m 10.57
Powerplant
1 PE Argus As 410C, power hp 450
Weights, kg
Empty weight 1,675
Loaded weight 2,075
Performance
Maximum speed, km/h 260
Cruise speed, km/h 212
Service ceiling, m 6,500
Service range, km 740

On August 14, 1942, an aircraft was shot down on one of the lakes in the Urd Lake area, the type of which could hardly be known to Soviet pilots. First, in the reports it was called "Hamburg-140", then - Not-113. The Soviet soldiers who pulled it out to the shallows, after examination, found that this aircraft had the tactical number NH + AM, indicating that it belonged to the 10th search and rescue squad. It was only after the war that it became clear that there was a rare sample of the Ar 199 V-2. Only three such machines were built, two of which participated in the hostilities in the North.

The aircraft did not go into production and only prototypes, Ar 199V-1 and V-2, were made. The fate of one machine, Ar 199V-2 (serial number 3673), has already been told; the second was also part of the search and rescue service of the 5th Air Fleet and was probably evacuated from Norway with German units in 1944.

Photo Description
Drawing Arado 199

Drawing Arado 199

Bibliography

  • Arado Ar.199 /Andrey Suvorov./
  • "Luftwaffe warplanes" / ed. David Donald/
  • Battles over the sea / AviaMaster. A. Zablotsky, R. Larintsev./