Arado Ar 96

The Arado Ar 96 is 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.

Ar 96
Arado Ar 96Bs in echelon flight
Role Military trainer
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Arado Flugzeugwerke
First flight 1938
Introduction 1939
Primary users Luftwaffe
Czechoslovakian Air Force
Hungarian Air Force
Romanian Air Force
Number built 2891

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.

In 1943, Arado started development of a new derivative of the Ar 96, using non-strategic metals and wood, to be powered by a 580 hp (430 kW) Argus As 411 MA engine. The French company SIPA was ordered to build three prototypes and 25 preseries aircraft, but the Allied invasion of France forced the Germans to shift production of the Ar 396 to Czechoslovakia.[1][2] The first Czech-built example flew on 24 November 1944, with about 12 more examples completed by a consortium of several Czech manufacturers, led by Avia.[3] SIPA, meanwhile, continued work on its prototype after the German retreat from France, with the first French-built Ar 396, redesignated SIPA S.10, flying on 29 December 1944.[1]

Operational history

The Ar 96 was used for advanced, night and instrument-flying training.

During the Battle of Berlin, on the evening of 28 April 1945, test pilot Hanna Reitsch flew with then-Luftwaffe head Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim out from Berlin under Soviet fire in an Arado Ar 96 trainer, from an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten.

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 Avia C-2B.

A wooden version, known as the Ar 396, was built in France and was designated the SIPA S.10. Further developments were the SIPA S.11 (armed version), and the SIPA S.12, a metal version; 188 of all versions were produced until 1958. The S.11 was operated with some success in Algeria, carrying machine guns, rockets and light bombs.

Variants
Ar 96A
Two-seat advanced trainer aircraft. Initial production version.
Ar 96B
Improved version. Main production version.
Ar 96B-1
Unarmed pilot trainer version.
Ar 96B-2
Ar 96C
Ar 296
A proposed development of the Ar 96 with an Argus As 411 engine, abandoned in favour of the Ar 396, due to the use of non-strategic materials in the Ar 396 production.
Ar 396A-1
Single-seat gunnery trainer, powered by an Argus As 411 engine, built largely from wood.
Ar 396A-2
Unarmed instrument trainer version.
SIPA S.10
French production version of Ar 396, 28 produced.[4]
SIPA S.11
Modified version of S.10, powered by Renault 12S (French built Argus As 411), 50 built for the French Air Force.[4]
SIPA S.12
All-metal version of S.11, 52 built for the French Air Force.[4]
SIPA S.121
Modified version of S.12, 58 built for the French Air Force.[4]
Avia C.2B
Czechoslovak production version of the Ar 96B. Czechoslovak designation C.2B. 228 built by Avia and 182 by Letov between 1945 and 1950.[5]

Production figures up to 1945
Version Arado AGO Avia Letov Total Construction period
Prototypes 4       4 1937–1938
A-0 6       6 including 3 delivered on 1 April 1939, W.-Nr. 2879-2884
A 23 69     92 Mid 1939 – May 1940
B-0 2       2 1940
B-1 144 223 997 17 1,381 July 1940 – April 1944
B-3     210   210 1941–1943
B-6     100   100 July 1943 – January 1944
B-7     518 378 896 May 1944 – March 1945
B-7/B-8 81 81 December 1944 – March 1945
B-8 74 74 June 1944 – January 1945
Sales series 45       45 1939–1940
Total 224 292 1825 550 2891

Operators
 Bulgaria
  • Bulgarian Air Force – Bulgaria operates 12 to 20 ( different sources) Arado 96B after 1939 plus at last 3(proved) specially developed for Bulgaria "light bomber" version with a MG on the back. Some planes were captured in 1945 in Hungary and transferred to Bulgaria. including at last one Ar96-A version. After the war, additionally received (at last)two Avia C.2s in 1948 from Czechoslovakia.[6]
 Czechoslovakia
 France
 Germany
 Hungary
 Slovakia

Surviving aircraft

Specifications (Arado Ar 96B-2)

Data from Aircraft of the Third Reich Vol.1[8]

General characteristics

  • Crew: two
  • Length: 9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
  • Wingspan: 11 m (36 ft 1 in)
  • Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)
  • Wing area: 17.1 m2 (184 sq ft)
  • Empty weight: 1,295 kg (2,855 lb)
  • Max takeoff weight: 1,700 kg (3,748 lb)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Argus As 410A-1 inverted V-12 air-cooled piston engine, 347 kW (465 hp)
  • Propellers: 2-bladed variable pitch metal propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 330 km/h (210 mph, 180 kn) at sea level
  • Cruise speed: 295 km/h (183 mph, 159 kn)
  • Range: 991 km (661 mi, 574 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,100 m (23,300 ft)
  • Rate of climb: 5.08 m/s (1,000 ft/min)

Armament
1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine gun

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arado Ar 96.

Notes
  1. Nëel June 1977, p. 3
  2. Smith & Kay 1972, p. 54
  3. Kudlicka 2004, pp. 48–49
  4. Taylor, Michael J H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. pg. 825. Portland House, 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8
  5. Kudlicka 2004, pp. 45–46.
  6. Kudlicka 2004, p.48.
  7. Flyhistorisk Museum Sola Archived 2008-11-02 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian)
  8. Green, William (2010). Aircraft of the Third Reich. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). London: Aerospace Publishing Limited. pp. 43 & 90. ISBN 978-1-900732-06-2.

Bibliography
  • Arnaubec, Gérard (November 1977). "Sipa sérieux s'abentir" [Seriously Absent Sipa]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (96): 36–37. ISSN 0757-4169.
  • Green, William (2010). Aircraft of the Third Reich. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). London: Aerospace Publishing. pp. 43, 90. ISBN 978-1-900732-06-2.
  • Kranzhoff, Jörg Armin. Arado Ar 96 Varianten (Flugzeug Profile Nr. 43) (in German). Stengelheim, Germany: Unitec-Medienvertrieb, e.K., 2006.
  • Kudlicka, Bohumir. An Arado By Other Names: Czech Ar 96 and Ar 396 Production. Air Enthusiast 111, May/June 2004, pp. 45–49. ISSN 0143-5450
  • Mihaly, Edouard (October 1977). "Le Sipa". Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (95): 24–25. ISSN 0757-4169.
  • Mondey, David. The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor, 1996. ISBN 1-85152-966-7.
  • Nëel, Gilbert (June 1977). "Les Sipa S.10 à S.121 (1): Avion-école de la Luftwaffe l'Arado 396 devint un "Stuka" dans l'Armée de l'Air..." [The Sipa S.10 to S.121, Part 1: From the Luftwaffe's Arado 396 Training Aircraft to the French Air Force's Stuka]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (91): 3–7. ISSN 0757-4169.
  • Nëel, Gilbert (July 1977). "Les Sipa S.10 à S.121 (2): à l'EALA 1/71: de la reconnaissance à l'appuis-feu..." [The Sipa S.10 to S.121, Part 2: With EALA 1/71: From Reconnaissance to Fire Support]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (92): 3–7. ISSN 0757-4169.
  • Nëel, Gilbert (August 1977). "Les Sipa S.10 à S.121 (3): bonne à tout faire de l'Armée de l'Air en Algerie..." [The Sipa S.10 to S.121, Part 3: Air Force Handyman in Algeria]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (93): 11–15. ISSN 0757-4169.
  • Nëel, Gilbert (September 1977). "Les Sipa S.10 à S.121 (4): en attendant l'arrivée des T-6, le brave Sipa se tape tout le boulot..." [The Sipa S.10 to S.121, Part 4: While Waiting for the Arrival of the T-6, the Brave Sipa is Doing all the Work]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (94): 16–19. ISSN 0757-4169.
  • Nëel, Gilbert (October 1977). "Les Sipa S.10 à S.121 (5): Les derniers mois d'une carrière mouvementé..." [The Sipa S.10 to S.121, Part 5: The Last Months of an Eventful Career]. Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French) (95): 21–23. ISSN 0757-4169.
  • Smith J. R. and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company, 1972. ISBN 0-370-00024-2.
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