Arado Ar 76

Development

Arado's response to a requirement by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) for a light / emergency fighter aircraft, was the Ar 76 which was evaluated against the Heinkel He 74, Focke-Wulf Fw 56, and the Henschel Hs 121 and Hs 125 in 1935. Although the Fw 56 was selected for the main production contract, the RLM was sufficiently impressed by the Ar 76 to order a small number of production aircraft as well.

Design

The Ar 76 was a parasol-wing monoplane with fixed, tailwheel undercarriage. The wings were fabric over wood, and the fuselage was fabric over steel tube.

Operational history

Production Ar 76A aircraft were used by Jagdfliegerschulen (fighter pilot schools) from 1936.

Variants

Data from:

Ar 76a

First prototype, (regn. D-ISEN).

Ar 76 V2

Second prototype, (regn. D-IRAS).

Ar 76 V3

Third prototype.

Ar 76A

Single-seat advanced trainer, lightweight fighter aircraft. Built in small numbers.

Operators

 Germany

Luftwaffe

Specifications (Ar 76A-0)

Data from Aircraft of the Third Reich.

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)

Wingspan: 9.50 m (31 ft 2 in)

Height: 2.55 m (8 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 13.34 m² (143.6 sq ft)

Empty weight: 751 kg (1,656 lb)

Gross weight: 1,072 kg (2,363 lb)

Powerplant: 1 × Argus As 10C inverted V-8 air-cooled piston engine, 179 kW (240 hp)

Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed pitch propeller

Performance

Maximum speed: 267 km/h (166 mph; 144 kn)

Cruising speed: 221 km/h (137 mph; 119 kn)

Range: 470 km (292 mi; 254 nmi)

Endurance: 2 hr 24 minutes

Service ceiling: 6,400 m (20,997 ft)

Rate of climb: 7.2 m/s (1,420 ft/min)

Armament

Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns with 250 rounds per gun

Bombs: 2 × 10 kg (22 lb) SC10 fragmentation bombs