- Arado Ar 68
Infobox Aircraft
name = Ar 68
type = Biplane Fighter
manufacturer =Heinkel
caption =
designer =
first flight = 1934
introduced =1936
retired =1940
status =
primary user =Luftwaffe
more users =
produced =
number built =
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = The Arado Ar 68 was a single seatbiplane aircraft developed in the mid-1930s. It was among the first fighters produced whenGermany abandoned the restrictions of theTreaty of Versailles and began rearming.Designed to replace the
Heinkel He 51 , the Ar 68 proved to have admirable handling characteristics on its first flight in early 1934 despite Heinkel'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 cancelled 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 theSpanish Civil War where it was outclassed by the stumpy RussianPolikarpov 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 theMesserschmitt Bf 109 . The last Ar 68s served as night fighters in the winter of 1939-40 and fighter-trainers.Variants
*Ar 68V1 : Prototype, powered by a 660 hp (492 kW)
BMW VI piston engine. First flight in 1933.
*Ar 68a : First prototype.
*Ar 68b : Second prototype.
*Ar 68c : Third prototype.
*Ar 68d : Fourth prototype.
*Ar 68e : Fifth prototype.
*Ar 68E : First type to enter Luftwaffe service, powered by a 610 hp (455 kW)Junkers Jumo 210 piston engine.
*Ar 68F : Powered by a 670 hp (500 kW) BMW VI piston engine.
*Ar 68G : Most produced variant, BMW VI piston engine (670 hp+)
*Ar 68H : Only a single prototype was built. It was powered by an 850 hp (634 kW) superchargedBMW 132 Da nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine. It was also the first Arado fighter to have an enclosed cockpit.pecifications (Ar 68E)
aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref= [Sharpe, Michael. "Biplanes, Triplanes, an Seaplanes", pg.37. London, England: Friedman/Fairfax Books , 2000. ISBN 1-58663-300-7.]
crew=1
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 9.4 m
length alt= 30.84 ft
span main= 11.58 m
span alt= 37.99 ft
height main= 3.3 m
height alt= 10.83 ft
area main= 27.3m2
area alt= 294 sq ft
airfoil=
empty weight main= 1,840 kg
empty weight alt= 4,057 lb
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt= 294 sq/ft
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 2,475 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 5,457 lb
more general=
engine (prop)=Junkers Jumo 210 Ea
type of prop= superchargedV12 engine
number of props=1
power main= 671 hp
power alt= 500 kW
power original=
max speed main= 335 km/h
max speed alt= 215 mph
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 500 km
range alt=270 miles
ceiling main= 12,800 m
ceiling alt= 41,995 ft
climb rate main= 432 m/ps
climb rate alt=1,417 ft/min
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
armament=
* 2 x 7.9mmMG 17 machine gun s
* Light bombs to 2,100 lb total
avionics=ee also
aircontent
related=similar aircraft=
* He 51
* Ar 64lists=
*List of World War II military aircraft of Germany
*List of military aircraft of Germany
*List of fighter aircraft
see also=References
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