Arado Ar 68 Biplane Fighter - History, Specs and Pictures

The Arado-production of the Ar 68 signaled a stepping stone for fighter design in the German Luftwaffe. With the air force branch still held in secret from the rest of the world, the Luftwaffe quietly set about building up their force with the Ar 68 becoming one of their earliest inductees. The Arado Ar 68 would appear in 1934 in both prototype and - later - production forms, the system would be generally outclassed by the time the war was in bull outbreak in 1939. As a result, the Ar 68 would see more service as a pilot trainer than anything close to a combat fighter aircraft.

The Ar 68 was still a biplane design in 1934, complete with an open cockpit, twin forward-firing guns in a fixed position and fixed landing gears. In ways, the system resembled the production of the British Hawker Hurricane with the exception that the Hurricane came through as a monoplane design. Taking one look at the profile of the Ar 68 and one can easily envision the system as a monoplane design itself.

The Ar 68 design resulted in a variety of forms, many replacing the initial engine with other more powerful and more capable builds. One variant of note became the Ar 68 "H" model which, in fact, did feature an enclosed cockpit. This variant was limited to a single production model and that one model was itself labeled "experimental". Armament for all Ar 68's consisted of twin MG 17 machine guns of the traditional German 7.92mm caliber. Text ©2003-2013 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • No Reproduction Permitted
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Specifications for the
Arado Ar 68
Biplane Fighter

Country of Origin: Nazi Germany
Manufacturer: Arado Flugzeugwerke - Germany
Initial Year of Service: 1934
Production: Not Available

Focus Model: Arado Ar 68G
Crew: 1

Length: 31.17ft (9.5m)
Width: 36.09ft (11.00m)
Height: 10.76ft (3.28m)
Weight (Empty): 0lbs (0kg)
Weight (MTOW): 5,456lbs (2,475kg)

Powerplant: 1 x BMW VI liquid-cooled V-type engine generating 750hp.

Maximum Speed: 190mph (305kmh; 165kts)
Maximum Range: 258miles (415km)
Service Ceiling: 26,575ft (8,100m; 5.0miles)
Rate-of-Climb: 0 feet per minute (0m/min)

Hardpoints: 0
Armament Suite:
2 x 7.92mm MG 17 forward-firing fixed machine guns.

Variants:
Ar 68V-1 - Prototype Model; fitted with BMW V1 engine.

Ar 68B

Ar 68E - Fitted with Jumo 210Da two-stage supercharged engine of 610hp.

Ar 68G - Fitted with BMW VI 750hp engine.

Ar 68H - Experimental Variant; single example constructed; enclosed cockpit; fitted with BMW 132 air-cooled engine.

Operators: Nazi Germany

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