The Arado Ar 96 was a German single-engine, low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction produced by Arado Flugzeugwerke. It was the Luftwaffe's standard advanced trainer during World War II.
Design and development[]
Designed by Walter Blume as the result of a 1936 Reich Air Ministry tender, the prototype, powered by a 179 kW (240 hp) Argus As 10c engine, first flew in 1938. In 1939, an initial batch of Ar 96A aircraft was produced. This was followed by the major production series, the more powerful Ar 96B, fitted with the Argus As 410 engine.
Operational history[]
The Ar 96 was used for advanced, night and instrument flying training. Famously, during the evening of 28 April 1945, pilot Hanna Reitsch was flown with then-Luftwaffe head Generaloberst Robert Ritter von Greim out from Berlin under Soviet fire in an Arado Ar 96 trainer from an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten, piloted by a Luftwaffe sergeant.
Shadow production was undertaken by Letov and the Avia factory in occupied Czechoslovakia, where manufacturing continued for some years after the war, being designated the C-2. A wooden version known as the Ar 396 was built in France and was designated the SIPA SS.11. Further developments were the SIPA 111 (armed version), and the SIPA S-12, a metal version; 58 Machines were produced until 1958. The S.11 was operated with some success in Algeria carrying machine guns, rockets and light bombs.
Specifications (Arado Ar 96B-2)[]
- General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in), Ar 396A-1: 9.3 m (31 ft)
- Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
- Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in), Ar 396A-1: 2.45 m (8 ft)
- Wing area: 17.1 m2 (184 sq ft)Ar 396A-1: 18.3 m2 (197 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 1,295 kg (2,855 lb), Ar 396A-1: 1,643 kg (3,622 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 1,700 kg (3,748 lb), Ar 396A-1: 2,060 kg (4,542 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Argus As 410A-1 inverted V-12 air-cooled piston engine, 347 kW (465 hp), Ar 396A-1: 1 x 433 kW (581 hp) Argus As 411MA inverted V-12 air-cooled piston engine
- Propellers: 2-bladed variable pitch metal propeller
- Performance
- Maximum speed: 330 km/h (205 mph; 178 kn) at sea level
- Cruising speed: 295 km/h (183 mph; 159 kn), Ar 396A-1: 275 km/h (171 mph) at sea level
- Range: 990 km (615 mi; 535 nmi), Ar 396A-1: 600 km (373 mi)
- Service ceiling: 7,100 m (23,294 ft), Ar 396A-1: 6,900 m (22,638 ft)
- Rate of climb: 5.083 m/s (1,000.6 ft/min)
- Time to altitude: Ar 396A-1: 4,000 m (13,123 ft) in 10 minutes 18 seconds
- Armament
- 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine gun, Ar 396A-1: 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine gun + 2 x 50 kg (110 lb) bombs on underwing racks
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