Germany's Arado Ar 234 bomber
Nickname: "Blitz" (Lightning)

Photos

Arado Ar 234A Blitz bomber:	Arado Ar 234A Blitz bomber with rocket take-off assists:	Arado Ar 234A Blitz bomber landing:	Arado Ar 234A Blitz bomber:
Arado Ar 234B Blitz bomber:	Arado Ar 234C Blitz bomber:
Arado Ar 234 Blitz bomber:	Arado Ar 234 Blitz bomber:

Design

The Arado Ar 234 Blitz was the world's first jet bomber.^1,2,4 Design of the Ar 234 started in 1941 by Walter Blume and Hans Rebeski.⁴

The first prototype was delivered during the winter of 1941/1942 but had to wait for it's first flight because of the delay of the Junkers Jumo turbojets.^1,2,4

The Ar 234 could mount two Walter rocket assisted take off devices under the wings.¹ This was needed as it took 1,250' / 380 m of runway to get in air.¹

There was an ejection seat installed for the pilot.^1,2 Other new features that the Ar 234 had was a pressurized cockpit, autopilot, and bombing computer.³

Armament

The bombs were mounted in external racks under the engine housings.⁴

There were two 20 mm MG 151 cannons firing towards the rear for defense.⁴

Landing Gear

Also on take off, the Ar 234 was mounted to a wheeled trolley that was jettisoned after take off in the prototypes.^1,2,3,4 The aircraft would then land on a skid.¹ Later models had tricycle landing gear installed.¹

Cockpit

The cockpit of the Ar 234 was completely glassed in.⁴

Engines

The turbojets only had a life of 25 hours.¹ The Ar 234's engines were mounted in nacelles under the wings.⁴

Prototype

The prototype Ar 234V1 was first flown on June 15, 1943.^2,3,4 The Ar 234V9 took flight on March 10, 1944.⁴

The pre production Ar 234B-0 was flown in June 1944.³

The Ar 234C prototype first flew in February 1944.³

Production

Production models were designated the Ar 234 B.¹

• Prototypes: 30³
• Pre production: 20³
• Arado Ar 234B-1 and Arado Ar 234B-2: 210³
• Arado Ar 234C: 14³
• Total: 274³
  • Manufacturer: Arado Flugzeugwerke GmbH⁴

Variants

• Arado Ar 234V1: First prototype with two Junkers Jumo 004 engines.⁴
• Arado Ar 234V6: Had four BMW 003A-1 turbojets.^2,4
• Arado Ar 234V8: Had four BMW 003A-1 turbojets.²
• Arado Ar 234V9: Became the Ar 234B.⁴ Had tricycle landing gear.⁴
• Arado Ar 234B-0: Pre production.³
• Arado Ar 234B: Production version.^1,2,4 Had tricycle landing gear.^2,4
• Arado Ar 234B-1: Unarmed reconnaissance version.^2,3,4 Deliveries started in September 1944.³
• Arado Ar 234B-2: Bomber.^2,3,4
• Arado Ar 234B-2/b: Reconnaissance.^2,4
• Arado Ar 234B-2/1: Pathfinder.^2,4
• Arado Ar 234B-2/r: Long range bomber.^2,4 Had auxiliary fuel tanks installed.⁴
• Arado Ar 234C: Had four BMW 003A-1 turbojets (1,760 lb).^1,4 May never have gotten off the ground.¹

Usage

It was first used in the reconnaissance role in late July 1944⁴ / 1944 by flying over the United Kingdom.^1,4

On Christmas Eve 1944, they were used in a raid on allied supplies in Liege, Belgium.¹ They were again used in the Ardennes battle and at Remagen in 1945.^1,3

Operations ceased in March 1945.¹

Reconnaissance Units

The 1 /Versuchsverband Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe first used the Ar 234 B-1 in late 1944.² The next unit to receive them was the Sonderkommando Hecht and Sperling.²

In 1945 these units were replaced by 1 (F)/33, 1 (F)/100, and 1 (F)/123.²

KG 76

The Ar 234 was used by the KG 76 starting in January 1945 and carried out a number of bombing raids.²

Kommando Bonow

The Kommando Bonow used some Ar 234s as night fighters.²

Specifications

	Arado Ar 234 Blitz3	Arado Ar 234B-21,2,3,4	Arado Ar 234C3
Type	Bomber3, Reconnaissance3	Bomber1,2,4, Reconnaissance1
Crew	13	11,2,4
Engine (Type)	2: Junkers Jumo 004B turbojets3	2: BMW 003A-1 turbojets2 2: Junkers Jumo 004 B4 2: Junkers Jumo 004B-1 Orkan turbojets1	4: BMW 003A turbojets3
Thrust - BMW		1,764 lb2 7.85 kN2	1,760 lb3 7.9 kN3
Thrust - Junkers	1,980 lb3 8.9 kN3	1,975 lb1, 1,980 lb4 8.8 kN1
Dimensions
Span	46 3.5"3 14.11 m3	46'1, 46' 3"4, 46' 3.5"2 14.44 m1,2
Length	41' 5.5"3 12.64 m3	41'1, 41' 5.5"2, 41' 6"4 12.64 m1,2
Height	14' 1.25"3 4.3 m3	14'1, 14' 1"4, 14' 1.5"2 4.29 m1,2
Wing area		284.17 ft2 2, 294 ft2 1 27.3 m2 1,2
Weight
Empty		11,440 lb1, 11,464 lb2,3 5,200 kg2,3, 5,300 kg1
Normal load		18,540 lb3, 18,541 lb4 8,410 kg3
Loaded		21,560 lb1, 21,6052, 21,715 lb3 9,800 kg1,2, 9,850 kg3
Performance
Speed @ 19,685' / 6,000 m		461 mph2,4 742 kph2
Speed @ 20,000' / 6,000 m		460 mph1 742 kph1
Speed @ 26,250' / 8,000 m	460 mph3 740 kph3
Speed @ 32,810' / 10,000 m	435 mph3 700 kph3
Climb to 19,685' / 6,000 m	12.8 minutes3	12.8 minutes2
Service ceiling	32,810'3 10,000 m3	32,810'2, 33,000'1,4 10,000 m1,2
Range	1,013 miles3 1,630 km3	1,010 miles1, 1,013 miles2, 1,103 miles4 1,630 km1,2
Range with max bomb load	684 miles3 1,100 km3
Armament
Rear firing	2: 20 mm3	2: 20 mm MG 1514
Bombs	3,307 lb3 1,500 kg3	3,300 lb4, 4,400 lb1, 4,409 lb2 1,995 kg1, 2,000 kg2