Arado Ar 68

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Arado Ar 68
Arado Ar 68 E
Type: Fighter plane , night fighter
Design country:

German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) German Empire

Manufacturer:

Arado

First flight:

1934

Commissioning:

1936

Production time:

April 1936 to January 1938

Number of pieces:

514

The Arado Ar 68 was a German single-seat biplane that was developed and built as a fighter aircraft in 1931 .

development

The Arado Ar 68 was the last biplane of the German Air Force and was developed parallel to the Heinkel He 51 as the successor to the Arado Ar 65 in order to be able to equip the young Air Force, which was exposed in 1935, with larger numbers of units. It had a three-part upper wing and a smaller two-part lower wing. On her maiden flight in 1934 she demonstrated excellent controllability and performance, although Arado had problems with the reliability and performance of the BMW VId engine . Ultimately, the dependable Junkers Jumo 210 was installed and the machine went into mass production, although there were some concerns about tolerance issues to pilot error that put the project at risk. Overall, the Ar 68 remained inferior to its competitor Heinkel He 51.

commitment

In 1936 the first machines were put into service with the Air Force in East Prussia and soon afterwards used for the first time during the Spanish Civil War . This showed that they were inferior to the Republican machines of the Polikarpow I-16 type . Arado reacted to this with the introduction of the E-model, which was the most widely used aircraft of the German Air Force until the introduction of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 . In 1940, the last specimens that had been used as night fighters with flame suppressors and night camouflage were finally retired. The Ar 68 was used as a training aircraft until 1944.

Production numbers

A total of 514 Ar 68 were built. Series production ran from April 1936 to January 1938. The first 150 aircraft were delivered as Ar 68 F with BMW VI, the rest as Ar 68 E with Jumo 210. Production took place in the Arado works in Warnemünde and Brandenburg ad Havel , as well as Construction under license at Erla in Leipzig and Fieseler in Kassel .

Production figures of the Ar 68
Manufacturer total
ArW 72
ArB 303
Erla 76
Fieseler 63
total 514

Versions

Arado Ar 68F of the 4th squadron of Jagdgeschwader 134 " Horst Wessel " at Werl Air Base , 1936
  • Ar 68a : First prototype with BMW VId
  • Ar 68b : Second prototype with a liquid-cooled 12-cylinder Junkers Jumo 210 A engine
  • Ar 68c : Third prototype with a liquid-cooled 12-cylinder Jumo 210A engine and two 7.92 mm MG 17s with 500 rounds per weapon.
  • Ar 68d : pre-production model with BMW VI. So it was the Ar 68 E-0.
  • Ar 68e : pre-production model with Jumo 210Da. Also known as Ar 68 V-5. According to the new designation system, it was listed as Ar 68 E-0.
  • Ar 68 F-1 : Series model with tubular steel fuselage and metal planking, but fabric-covered wings made of wooden frames. Due to delivery problems for the Jumo 210, the Ar 68 F with BMW VI 7.3Z was preferred to the E as an interim model in spring / summer 1936. The power was 750 hp take-off power. It served as the initial equipment for Jagdgeschwader 134 " Horst Wessel " at Werl Air Base .
  • Ar 68 E-1 : Final production version with the Jumo 210Da with 640 hp, which was later replaced by the Jumo 210Ea. It formed the initial equipment of the Schlageter fighter squadron
  • Ar 68 H : Prototype (D-ISIX) from spring 1937 with an air-cooled 9-cylinder radial engine BMW 132 Da with 800 to 850 hp, a closed cockpit and two additional MG 17s on the upper wing. The maximum speed was 306 km / h at sea level and 335 km / h at 2650 m. The Arado Ar 197 airborne fighter for the planned Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier was later derived from this type .

Technical specifications

Parameter Data of the Arado Ar 68 E-1
crew 1
length 9.40 m
span 11.58 m
height 3.30 m
Wing area 27.30 m²
Wing extension 4.9
payload 1045 kg without fuel
Empty mass 1840 kg
Max. Takeoff mass 2475 kg
Wing loading 59 kg / m²
Top speed 335 km / h
Service ceiling 7400 m
Range 500 km
Engines 1 × twelve-cylinder engine Junkers Jumo 210Ea with 670 PS (approx. 490 kW) to 750 PS (approx. 550 kW)
Armament 2 × 7.92 mm MG 17

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Arado Ar 68  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Federal Archives / Military Archives, Production Programs RL 3
  2. ^ Documents from the Federal Archives / Freiburg Military Archives, holdings RL 3