Arado Ar 68

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:

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

Luftwaffe

 Spain

Spanish Air Force

Specifications (Ar 68E-1)

Data from Warplanes of the Third Reich.

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 9.5 m (31 ft 2 in)

Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)

Height: 3.3 m (10 ft 10 in)

Empty weight: 1,600 kg (3,527 lb)

Gross weight: 2,020 kg (4,453 lb)

Powerplant: 1 × Junkers Jumo 210Ea inverted V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 507 kW (680 hp) at sea level for 5 minutes, 500 kW (671 hp)) at 3,800 m (12,467 ft)

Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 306 km/h; 165 kn (190 mph) at sea level (Ar 68F-1 330 km/h (205 mph))

Range: 499 km; 269 nmi (310 mi)

Service ceiling: 8,100 m (26,575 ft)

Rate of climb: 12.6 m/s (2,480 ft/min)

Time to altitude: 6,000 m (19,685 ft) in 10 minutes

Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns with 500 r.p.g. (rounds per gun)

Bombs: Up to 6 10 kg (22 lb) SC 10 fragmentation bombs