Arado Ar 66
Ar 66 | |
---|---|
Role | Trainer
|
Manufacturer | Arado Flugzeugwerke |
Designer | Walter Rethel[1] |
First flight | 1932[1] |
Introduction | 1933 |
Primary user | Luftwaffe |
Number built | 1,456 |
The Arado Ar 66 was a single-engined twin-seat training biplane designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado. It was the last aircraft to be designed by the aeronautical engineer Walter Rethel in collaboration with Arado.[1]
The Ar 66 was developed as a military trainer aircraft during the early 1930s. First flown in 1932, it quickly proved superior to two rival aircraft and was selected to meet the training needs of the Luftwaffe. In addition to primary flight training, the Ar 66 was used for aerobatics and night-time instruction along with the training of various air crew positions, such as bombardiers, radio operations, aerial photographers, and machine gun operators.
The Ar 66 was produced by multiple companies
Design and development
During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Arado's design team, headed by the company's chief designer Walter Rethel, produced a number of capable aircraft, such as the Ar 65 biplane fighter.[2] According to the aviation historian Jörg Armin Kranzhoff, the company had become confident enough of an order for new twin-seat trainer aircraft from the German government that, by 1930, it had directed the production of multiple project designs to fulfil this anticipated demand.[2] Despite this confidence, the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule, a German covert military-training organization, lacked financial resources and thus did not act quickly to issue any such contract. As such, early development work on what would become the Ar 66 was paid for out of Arado's own resources.[2]
While work on the project had been started under Rethel's leadership, the later stages of development were led by Walter Blume after Rethel transferred to the rival German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt.[1] During 1932, the first prototype, designated as the Ar 66a, performed its maiden flight. This was followed by an Ar 66b prototype and 10 production Ar 66B sea-planes with twin wooden floats and an enlarged rudder.[3] By the end of September of that year, the prototype had demonstrated itself to possess superior performance to two competing aircraft; accordingly, the Ar 66 was selected for further flight testing at the test centre of the Reichsverband der Deutschen Luftfahrtindustrie (RDL).[2][4]
A third (Ar 66c) prototype followed, and the production version of this, designated Ar 66C was delivered from 1933.[3] Quantity production of the Ar 66 commenced shortly after the receipt of an initial production contract for 320 aircraft.[2] The vast quantity ordered was somewhat of a challenge to Arado; the rate of production required to fulfil the order in a reasonable timeframe was far in excess of its historic practices; a quota of 712 Ar 66s was set to be completed by 30 April 1936. New production methods and planning approaches were promptly adopted, yet these were still not sufficient.[2] Licenses to produce the Ar 66 were issued to multiple German aircraft manufacturers, including MIAG, 90 for Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG[3] and Gothaer Waggonfabrik. During 1936 alone, 270 aircraft were produced.[2][5]
Design
The Ar 66 was a staggered-wing biplane of
The
The steel tube
Operational history
During 1933, the Ar 66 entered service with the
During the conflict, the Ar 66 undertook several prominent or atypical duties. During 1939, individual aircraft performed aerial reconnaissance over the Polish Corridor.[7] During 1943, the Luftwaffe set up a number of Störkampfstaffeln (harassment squadrons) to operate in Finland, Latvia and the USSR.[3] The Ar 66, along with the Gotha Go 145, formed the principal equipment of these groups.[1][4][3]
Variants
Data from Aircraft of the Third Reich[1]
- Ar 66a
- Prototype
- Ar 66b
- 2nd prototype completed as a floatplane
- Ar 66B
- Production Seaplane version of Ar 66C. Two large steel hollow floats, braced with iron cable. About ten were constructed and used for seaplane training.
- Ar 66C
- Series production model with modified elevators, larger rudder, and larger-diameter wheels.
Operators
- Czechoslovakian Air Force(Postwar)
- Spanish Air Force
Specifications (Ar 66C)
Data from Aircraft of the Third Reich,[1] Flugzeug Typenbuch 1936[8]
General characteristics
- Crew: two
- Length: 8.3 m (27 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)
- Height: 2.93 m (9 ft 7 in)
- Wing area: 29.63 m2 (318.9 sq ft)
- Aspect ratio: 6.2
- Empty weight: 905 kg (1,995 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 1,330 kg (2,932 lb)
- Fuel capacity: main tank:172 L (45 US gal; 38 imp gal); reserve tank:33 L (8.7 US gal; 7.3 imp gal); oil tank:17 L (4.5 US gal; 3.7 imp gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × Argus As 10Cinverted V-8 air-cooled piston engine, 179 kW (240 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed pitch propeller, 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed: 210 km/h (130 mph, 110 kn) at sea level
- Cruise speed: 175 km/h (109 mph, 94 kn) at optimum altitude
- Landing Speed: 80 km/h (50 mph; 43 kn)
- Range: 716 km (445 mi, 387 nmi)
- Endurance: 4.1 hours
- Service ceiling: 4,500 m (14,800 ft)
- Rate of climb: 4.333 m/s (853.0 ft/min)
- Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 4.1 minutes
- Wing loading: 45 kg/m2 (9.2 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass: 7.44 kg/kW (12.24 lb/hp)
- Fuel consumption: 26.7 L (7.1 US gal; 5.9 imp gal) / 100 km (62 mi)
- Oil consumption: 0.86 L (0.23 US gal; 0.19 imp gal) / 100 km (62 mi)
Armament
- 2 kg (4.4 lb) and 4 kg (8.8 lb) anti-personnel bombs
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of interwar military aircraft
- List of military aircraft of Germany
- List of World War II military aircraft of Germany
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Gerdessen, Frederik (July 1982). "Estonian Air Power 1918 – 1945". ISSN 0143-5450.
- Green, William (2010). Aircraft of the Third Reich (First ed.). London, UK: Aerospace Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-900732-06-2.
- Kranzhoff, Jörg Armin (1997). Arado, History of an Aircraft Company. Atglen, Pennsylvania, US: Schiffer Books. ISBN 0-7643-0293-0.
- Munson, Kenneth (1978). German Aircraft Of World War 2 in colour. Poole, Dorsett, UK: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-0860-3.
- Schneider, Helmut (1936). Flugzeug-Typenbuch 1936 (PDF) (in German) (1936 ed.). Leipzig, Germany: Herm. Beyer Verlag. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2018.
- Smith, J.R; Kay, Antony L. (1972). German Aircraft of the Second World War. London, UK: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-836-4.
- Vajda, Ferenc A.; Dancey, Peter (1998). German Aircraft Industry and Production, 1933-1945. McFarland. ISBN 1-85310-864-2.