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#Post#: 12076--------------------------------------------------
Plane of the Week: Arado Ar 196
By: vonofterdingen Date: August 3, 2020, 5:17 pm
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I have always liked seaplanes and the Arado Ar 196 is the
quintessential seaplane as far as the Kriegsmarine goes. It is
not very fast, but it is very maneuverable and the rear gunner
provides a nice bit of extra protection. I also appreciate a
float plane that has a low-wing monoplane design such as this;
visibility is much better. It is a great sea reconnaissance
plane of that period.
From Wikipedia:
The Arado Ar 196 was a shipboard reconnaissance low-wing
monoplane aircraft built by the German firm of Arado starting in
1936. The next year it was selected as the winner of a design
contest and became the standard aircraft of the Kriegsmarine
(German navy) throughout World War II.
In 1933, the Kriegsmarine looked for a standardized shipboard
observation seaplane. After a brief selection period, the
Reichsluftfahrtministerium (German Air Ministry, RLM) decided on
the Heinkel He 60 biplane. This was one of a line of
developments of a basic biplane airframe that appeared as a
number of floatplanes, trainers, and fighters. Deliveries
started in a matter of months.
By 1935, it was found that the He 60's performance was
lacking and the RLM asked Heinkel to design its replacement. The
result was the He 114. The first prototype was powered by the
Daimler-Benz DB 600 inline engine, but it was clear that
supplies of this engine would be limited and the production
versions turned to the BMW 132 radial engine instead.
The plane proved to have only slightly better performance
than the He 60, and its sea-handling was poor. Rushed
modifications resulted in a series of nine prototypes in an
attempt to solve some of the problems, but they did not help
much. The Navy gave up, and the planes were eventually sold off
to Romania, Spain and Sweden.
In October 1936, the RLM asked for a He 114 replacement. The
only stipulations were that it would use the BMW 132, and they
wanted prototypes in both twin-float and single-float
configurations. Designs were received from Dornier, Gotha, Arado
and Focke-Wulf. Heinkel declined to tender, contending that the
He 114 could still be made to work.
With the exception of the Arado low-wing monoplane design,
all were conventional biplanes. This gave the Arado better
performance than any of the others, and the RLM ordered four
prototypes. The RLM was conservative by nature, so they also
ordered two of the Focke-Wulf Fw 62 designs as a backup. It
quickly became clear that the Arado would work effectively, and
only four prototypes of the Fw 62 were built.
The Ar 196 prototypes were all delivered in summer 1937, V1
(which flew in May) and V2 with twin floats as A models, and V3
and V4 on a single float as B models. Both versions demonstrated
excellent water handling and there seemed to be little to
decide, one over the other. Since there was a possibility of the
smaller outrigger floats on the B models "digging in", the
twin-float A model was ordered into production. A single
additional prototype, V5, was produced in November 1938 to test
final changes.
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Ten A-0s were delivered in November and December 1938, with a
single 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun at the rear seat for
defence. Five similarly equipped B-0s were also delivered to
land-based squadrons. This was followed by 20 A-1 production
models starting in June 1939, enough to equip the surface fleet.
Starting in November, production switched to the heavier
land-based A-2 model. It added shackles for two 50 kg (110 lb)
bombs, two 20 mm MG FF cannon in the wings, and a 7.92 mm (.312
in) MG 17 machine gun in the cowling. The A-4 replaced it in
December 1940, strengthening the airframe, adding another radio,
and switching props to a VDM model. The apparently misnumbered
A-3, which had additional strengthening of the airframe,
replaced the A-4. The final production version was the A-5 from
1943, which changed radios and cockpit instruments, and switched
the rear gun to the much-improved MG 81Z. Overall, 541 Ar 196s
(15 prototypes and 526 production models) were built before
production ended in August 1944, about 100 of these from SNCA
and Fokker plants.
The plane was loved by its pilots, who found that it handled
well both in the air and on the water. With the loss of the
German surface fleet, the A-1s were added to coastal squadrons
and continued to fly reconnaissance missions and submarine hunts
into late 1944. Two notable operations were the capture of HMS
Seal, and the repeated interception of RAF Armstrong-Whitworth
Whitley bombers. Although it was no match for a fighter, it was
considerably better than its Allied counterparts, and generally
considered the best of its class. Owing to its good handling on
water, the Finnish Air Force utilized Ar 196s just for
transporting and supplying special forces patrols behind enemy
lines, landing on small lakes in remote areas. Several fully
equipped soldiers were carried in the fuselage.
Two Arado Ar 196s were brought to Penang in Japanese-occupied
Malaya aboard the auxiliary cruisers Thor and Michel in the
early 1940s. In March of 1944, along with a Japanese Aichi E13A,
these seaplanes formed the newly-created East Asia Naval Special
Service to assist both the German Monsun Gruppe and Japanese
naval forces in the area. The aircraft were painted in Japanese
livery and were operated by Luftwaffe pilots under the command
of Oberleutnant Ulrich Horn.
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In game…
I have never really flown the Arado 196 much but I have
encountered them in the game many times and they are pesky
little opponents. My first experience against a 196 was flying a
P-40 in Chris Blair’s classic campaign White Sun Blue Sky. In
that first encounter I thought I had an easy kill coming when I
saw this little floatplane in the distance. Well, it nailed me
straight away. After 4 attempts to complete the mission I
avoided the damn thing so that I could continue the campaign.
Now, years later, Lars and I used the Arado as a kind of harbor
protector during our Beaufort attack missions. Once again, we
found that the Arado 196 is a bit more formidable than it looks.
I think Lars did a little better against them than I did, but I
learned to avoid the little so and so’s as much as possible.
#Post#: 12081--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Arado Ar 196
By: Beowolff Date: August 4, 2020, 9:27 am
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YES! Marvelous bird! Great report, sir! And thank you! ;D
;D ;D ;D ;D
#Post#: 12083--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Arado Ar 196
By: cafs Date: August 4, 2020, 11:58 am
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Thanks for another great PoW, Von. 👍🏆
Tip to shoot at any bomber or attack aircraft with a rear
gunner, dive under their tail, away from the rear-gunner mg or
cannon range, climb and shoot at the E/A belly. Keep climbing
after the first pass, changing the speed gained in the dive to
return to the previous height, if the E/A keeps flying, do the
same attack again.
This gives very few seconds for a rear, or even ventral, gunner
to return fire. Didn't work well against US Air Force big
four-engine bombers, too many gunners around to shoot at you,
from every compass position.
This was the old boom-zoom tactic, against fighters you can do
the same, but diving closer to the E/A plane and shooting in the
dive too. Another excellent tactic from the Luftwaffe innovative
pilots, the likes of a Werner Mölders or Adolph Galland.
Cheers.
#Post#: 12085--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Arado Ar 196
By: vonofterdingen Date: August 4, 2020, 4:43 pm
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Good points Cafs. i think I was lulled into an over-confidence
because the plane just does not look as fierce (for want of a
better term) as most other rear-gunner bombers. I know darn well
to approach a Val dive bomber with respect for example. For some
reason the AR-196 looks vulnerable to me; my mistake!
#Post#: 12095--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Arado Ar 196
By: larsresult Date: August 5, 2020, 7:50 am
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The Ar196 is oddly quite an even match to the Beaufort, and a
fun challenge. As cafs advises a boom and zoom approach is
healthier, trying to get under the tail. Don't forget it also
has 20mm cannon in the wings so a head on attack can be a bit
nasty against your .303inch in the nose.
I set up a duel in QMB and won twice, lost twice and drew 6
times (both aircraft damaged or out of ammo). Great fun.
#Post#: 12101--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: Arado Ar 196
By: vonofterdingen Date: August 5, 2020, 4:19 pm
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Let's just say I did not do quite as well as Lars in the
Beaufort/Arado duels while testing. I learned to make a run for
it.
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