Arado Ar 96

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Arado Ar 96
Ar 96
Type: Trainer aircraft
Design country:

German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) German Empire

Manufacturer:

Arado aircraft works

First flight:

1938

Commissioning:

1939

Production time:

1939-1949

Number of pieces:

2891

Arado Ar 96 in the Technikmuseum Berlin

The Arado Ar 96 was a single-engine German trainer aircraft made by Arado Flugzeugwerke in the second half of the 1930s. The low-wing aircraft was equipped with a closed cockpit and retractable landing gear . During the Second World War, the Ar 96 was one of the standard training aircraft for the German Air Force .

development

The development was carried out by Walter Blume and began in 1936 on the basis of a tender by the Reich Aviation Ministry , which ordered three test samples and a break cell for strength tests for a total of 1.294 million Reichsmarks . In addition, a pilot series of six aircraft of variant A with a V8 engine type Argus As 10  C with 240 hp was ordered. The first flight of the prototype took place in 1938. Series production began in 1939 and was divided between the Arado branch in Brandenburg an der Havel ( Briest airfield ) and the AGO Flugzeugwerke in Oschersleben . Before the Second World War , the first twelve series aircraft could still be delivered. After the delivery of 92 A-series aircraft, the aircraft was converted to the Argus As 410 A V12 engine with 465 hp, creating the B-series. The two ordered B-0s and the converted V3 served as test samples for this series.

Prototypes

V pattern version W. no. Mark comment
V1 A. 2067 D-IRUU Conversion in V7
V2 A. 2068 D-IFHD Conversion in V5
V3 A. 2069 D-IGME Conversion to V6
V4 A. 2070 D-IZIE
V5 B. 2068 D-INDQ Conversion from V2
V6 B. 2069 D-IWCY / GJ + AL Conversion from V3
V7 B. 2067 D-IRUU Conversion from V1
V9 B. 2075 D-IXWZ Prototype for Bulgaria
B. 3732 Possibly. Pilot series, September 1, 1940 in Rechlin
B. 3733 Possibly. Zero series, September 1, 1940 at Arado

Note: Identifier or master identifier of the V3 and V4 as well as the WNr. the V5 and V6, as well as the existence of the V7 can no longer be proven beyond doubt.

Parallel to the production of the Ar 96, the Ju-88 series started at Arado, so that in June 1941 production of the Ar 96 in Brandenburg ceased for capacity reasons. At AGO, the last Ar 96 was delivered in April 1941. In the second half of 1940, production was relocated to the aircraft manufacturer Avia in Prague, which delivered a large part of the 2900 Ar 96s built. From January 1944 the Letov company was also involved in production. Production ended in February / March 1945 after the last delivery schedule of March 15, 1945 provided for only the Bücker Bü 181 to be produced as a training aircraft.

The planes from Czech production could only be used up to 350 km / h due to technical defects. Normal would be 600 km / h in a dive. The machines in question had a warning sign on the dashboard.

The Ar 96 was mainly used at the fighter pilot, destroyer and night hunting schools. From the sales series of 45 aircraft, four aircraft were delivered to Bulgaria in 1940 and a total of 41 aircraft to Hungary in 1939/1940. In the years that followed, aircraft, albeit from the RLM series, were exported. There is evidence of 20 aircraft for Bulgaria, 59 aircraft for Hungary and three aircraft for Slovakia in 1941 and 1942.

Model illustrating the Bulgarian version with an open rear stand

The V9 was equipped as a prototype for the Bulgarian version. This differed in an open rear cockpit with a movable MG on an Arado mount type K and a release device for three fragmentation bombs under the wings.

After the Arado Ar 197 did not go into series production, six Ar 96 B-1s equipped with catapult fittings and catch hooks were tested for use on the Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier at the testing site at See Travemünde . The tests are said to have been carried out at II./TGr 186. The machines were designated as B-1 (carrier) (according to other sources B-1 and B-3) and all came from the production of Avia . Their hallmarks were SJ + UT, SJ + UU, PH + GD, PH + GZ, CD + OA and CD + OJ. The installation of the complete carrier equipment such as catch hooks etc. is not proven in all of these machines. Two machines (PH + GZ, CD + OA) were released for testing in Italy in 1943, which then took place in Perugia-San Egidio. In 1942, the Czech company Mraz also received the order to convert a total of 120 Ar 96 B-1s into B-1 / U2 and B-1 / U3 command and carrier training aircraft. However, due to a lack of demand, the order was withdrawn by October 31, 1943.

Because of the increasing scarcity of raw materials, especially duralumin , substitutes were sought. After the unsuccessful single version Arado Ar 296 , the Arado Ar 396 made of wood was developed.

After the war, production of the Ar 96 was resumed at Avia and Letov and a total of 409 aircraft (227 Avia, 182 Letov) were manufactured under the designation C-2 by 1949 .

Production until the end of the war

version Arado AGO Avia Letov TOTAL Construction period
Prototypes 4th 4th 1937-1938
A-0 6th 6th 3 of them delivered on April 1, 1939, mat. 2879-2884
A. 23 69 92 Mid-1939 to May 1940
B-0 2 2 1940
B-1 144 223 997 17th 1381 July 1940 to April 1944
B-3 210 210 1941-1943
B-6 100 100 July 1943 to January 1944
B-7 518 378 896 May 1944 to March 1945
B-7 / B-8 81 81 December 1944 to March 1945
B-8 74 74 June 1944 to January 1945
Sales series 45 45 1939-1940
TOTAL 224 292 1825 550 2891

For December 1944 and February / March 1945 there are no subdivisions for Letov into the versions B-7 and B-8. However, it can be assumed that the majority of the aircraft built belonged to the B-7 version. The versions B-1 and B-7 were unarmed training aircraft, the other three versions were probably training aircraft armed with an MG 17.

Technical specifications

Three-sided tear
Parameter Data Arado Ar 96A Data Arado Ar 96B
crew 2 (student pilot / instructor)
length 8.78 m 9.10 m
span 11.00 m
height 2.64 m 2.60 m
Wing area 17.10 m²
Wing extension 7.1
Empty mass 1045 kg 1295 kg
Takeoff mass 1500 kg 1700 kg
Cruising speed 225 km / h 295 km / h
Top speed 275 km / h 330 km / h near the ground
Landing speed 96 km / h 103 km / h
Rise time 3.5 min at 1000 m
13.3 min at 3000 m 		6.5 min at 3000 m altitude
Service ceiling 4900 m 7100 m
Range 950 km 990 km
Engines 1 x Argus As 10C 1 × Argus As 410A-1
power 240 hp (177 kW) 465 hp (342 kW)
Armament a rigid 7.92mm machine gun 17
or a photo machine gun

Received aircraft

Web links

Commons : Arado Ar 96  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Production documents BA / MA Freiburg, RL 3
  2. ↑ a b c d e Jörg Armin Kranzhoff: Arado 96 variants. In: Flugzeug Profile 43. Unitec-Medienvertrieb, Stengelheim
  3. ↑ http://video.flyingheritage.com/v/116079427/feldwebel-erich-brunotte.htm Interview with flying ace Erich Brunotte
  4. ↑ Photo in Michal Ovcacik & Karel Susa: Arado Ar 96 Colors & Markings. Publisher Mark I. Ltd, ISBN 978-8086637-10-5 , web references with book review in Internet Modeller Book Reviews and drawing of +11 in master194.com
  5. ↑ magazine Jet & Prop , notebooks 12 / 07-3 / 08th Article Ulrich Israel: The adapted carrier aircraft. VDM Verlag, Zweibrücken 2007/2008
  6. ↑ http://www.stammkennzeichen.de , accessed on January 6, 2010, access requires login, which is available free of charge.
  7. ↑ a b c Data from Mr. Kucera from Prague, data from MA / BA Freiburg.
  8. ^ Richard Wagner and Manfred Wilske: aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin . NV Neckar-Verlag, Villingen-Schwenningen 2007, ISBN 978-3-7883-1127-8 .
  9. ↑ BA / MA Freiburg
  10. ↑ Arado Ar 96 B-1. In: flymuseum-sola.no. Retrieved January 21, 2019 (Norwegian).