Arado Ar 68

Ar 68
Role Biplane Fighter
Manufacturer Arado
Designer Walter Blume
First flight 1934
Introduction 1936
Retired 1940
Primary user Luftwaffe
Number built 511


The Arado Ar 68 was a single-seat biplane fighter developed in the mid-1930s. It was among the first fighters produced when Germany abandoned the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and began rearming.

Design and development

Designed to replace the Heinkel He 51, the Ar 68 proved to have admirable handling characteristics on its first flight in early 1934, despite Arado's inability to secure a sufficiently powerful engine for the prototype. Eventually, a Junkers Jumo 210 was installed and the Ar 68 went into production, though not before worries about the unforgiving nature of such a high-performance aircraft almost resulted in the cancellation of the project.

The Ar 68 entered service with the Luftwaffe in 1936 and one of the first units was stationed in East Prussia. Soon, the fighter was sent to fight in the Spanish Civil War, where it was outclassed by the Soviet Polikarpov I-16. Arado responded by upgrading the engine of the Ar 68E, which soon became the Luftwaffe's most widely used fighter in 1937-8 before being replaced by the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The last Ar 68s served as night fighters and fighter-trainers up to the winter of 1939-40.

Variants

Data from:[1]

Ar 68V1
Prototype, powered by a 492 kW (660 hp) BMW VI engine. First flight in 1934.
Ar 68a
First prototype.
Ar 68b
Second prototype.
Ar 68c
Third prototype.
Ar 68d
Fourth prototype.
Ar 68 V4
The fourth prototype (Ar 68d) re-designated after the RLM(Reichs Luftfahrtministerium) introduced the standardised Versuchs (research) number system.
Ar 68e
Fifth prototype.
Ar 68 V5
The fifth prototype (Ar 68e) re-designated after the RLM introduced the standardised Versuchs (research) number system.
Ar 68E
First type to enter Luftwaffe service, powered by a 455 kW (610 hp) Junkers Jumo 210.
Ar 68F
Interim production, powered by a 500 kW (670 hp) BMW VI, awaiting supply of Jumo 210 engines.
Ar 68G
Abortive attempt to fit a supercharged BMW VI (500 kW+/670 hp+).
Ar 68H
Only a single prototype was built, powered by a 634 kW (850 hp) supercharged BMW 132Da nine-cylinder air-cooled radial. It was also the first Arado fighter to have an enclosed cockpit.

Operators

 Germany
 Spain

Specifications (Ar 68E-1)

Data from Warplanes of the Third Reich.[1]

General characteristics

(Ar 68F-1 1,520 kg (3,351 lb))
(Ar 68F-1 1,950 kg (4,299 lb))
(Ar 68a 1 x 478 kW (641 hp)) BMW VId V-12.)
(Ar 68b 1 x 455 kW (610 hp)) Jumo 210A inverted V-12.)
(Ar 68c 1 x 455 kW (610 hp)) Jumo 210A inverted V-12.)
(Ar 68d 1 x 478 kW (641 hp)) BMW VId V-12.)
(Ar 68e 1 x 507 kW (680 hp)) Jumo 210Da inverted V-12.)
(Ar 68F-1 1 x BMW VI 7.3Z 559 kW (750 hp)) at sea level for 1 minute, 410 kW (550 hp)) at 1,000 m (3,281 ft).)
(Ar 68H 1 x 634 kW (850 hp)) BMW 132Da 9-cyl. radial.)

Performance

335 km/h (208 mph) at 2,650 m (8,694 ft) (Ar 68F-1 321 km/h (199 mph))
325 km/h (202 mph) at 4,000 m (13,123 ft) (Ar 68F-1 310 km/h (193 mph))
294.5 km/h (183 mph) at 6,000 m (19,685 ft) (Ar 68F-1 290 km/h (180 mph))
(Ar 68F-1 7,400 m (24,278 ft))
(Ar 68F-1 11.2 m/s (2,205 ft/min))
(Ar 68F-1 1,000 m (3,281 ft) in 1.35 minutes, 5,000 m (16,404 ft) in 10.2 minutes)

Armament

See also

Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Related lists

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arado Ar 68.
  1. 1 2 Green, William (1970). Warplanes of the Third Reich (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday & Company Inc. pp. 28–31. ISBN 0 385 05782 2.
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