Germany's Arado Ar 196 floatplane

Photos

Arado Ar 196 floatplane:


Arado Ar 196 floatplane:


Arado Ar 196 floatplane:

Arado Ar 196 floatplane:


Arado Ar 196A floatplane:

Aeronautics Aircraft Spotters' Handbook

Arado Ar 196A floatplane:

Aeronautics Aircraft Spotters' Handbook

Arado Ar 196A-2 floatplane:


Arado Ar 196A-5 floatplane:

Arado Ar 196 floatplane:


Arado Ar 196 floatplane:

Design

The Arado Ar 196 was to be the Heinkel He 50 replacement as it was becoming obsolete.^1,2 The Ar 196 was originally to be carrier based but since no carrier was built it did server aboard the larger ships in the German Navy.³ Kriegsmarine put out specifications in 1936 for a plane that could be catapulted from a carrier.³ Focke Wulf and Arado submitted designs.³ Focke Wulf's was a bi-plane.³ Four prototypes of the Arado Ar 196s were ordered.³

The Arado Ar 196's skeleton was of steel tubing.³ The rear of the fuselage was fabric covered with the rest being metal.³

Trials were being completed just as the war started.¹

Wings

The wings had fabric covering the control surfaces with the rest being metal.³

Floats

Each float had seven water tight compartments holding fuel.³

Prototypes

Prototypes had a 2 blade propeller.¹

The Ar 196V1 prototype first flew in May 1938.²

Production

It was built by Fokker and SNCA of Germany.¹

• Prototypes: 5²
  • Production: 1937³
• Preproduction: 10²
• Arado Ar 196A: 526²
  • Arado Ar 196A-1: 20²
• Arado Ar 196B: 546²
• Arado Ar 196A-3:
  • Production: Spring 1941 - ?³
• Arado Ar 196A-5:
  • Production: ? - August 1944³
• Total: >600³
  • Manufacturer: Arado Flugzeugwerke GmbH³

Variants

• Arado Ar 196V1: Prototype.² Single central float.²
• Arado Ar 196V2: Prototype.² Single central float.²
• Arado Ar 196V3: Prototype.² Twin floats.²
• Arado Ar 196V4: Prototype.² Twin floats.²
• Arado Ar 196V5: Prototype.² Twin floats.²
• Arado Ar 196A-0: Preproduction.²
• Arado Ar 196A-1: Production version.² Catapult attachments reenforced.³ Delivered in the summer of 1939.³
• Arado Ar 196A-3: Two 20 mm cannons in wings and one 7.9 mm machine gun on the side of the fuselage.³
• Arado Ar 196A-5: Two 20 mm cannons in wings, one 7.9 mm machine gun on the side of the fuselage, and one machine gun for the observer.³
• Manufacturer: Arado Flugzeugwerke GmbH³

Usage

The Ar 196s were also used in the English Channel for air-sea rescues.¹

In 1940 two Ar 196s helped in the capture the HMS Seal submarine.^1,2,3 The submarine had been damaged by a mine off the coast of Norway.¹ Two Ar 196s based in Aalborg, Denmark attacked the submarine and prevented it from submerging.¹ The Kriegsmarine then captured the submarine.¹

Warships

The Admiral Graf Spee was the first warship supplied with the Ar 196.¹ Eventually all capital ships and heavy cruisers had them.¹

The battleships Bismark and Tirpitz had six Arado Ar 196s each.² The Gneisenau and Scharnhorst each had four.² Pocket battleships and light cruisers had two Ar 196s.² Heavy cruisers had three Ar 196s onboard.²

Land Based

The Ar 196 was also used from land bases in the North Sea, Baltic, English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay.²

Many Uses

The Ar 196 was used for coastal patrolling, reconnaissance, anti-submarine, light bombing, and convoy escorting.²

Used in Which Countries

Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, and Romania all used the Ar 196.²

Specifications