| Ar 96 | |
|---|---|
| Arado Ar 96Bs in echelon flight | |
| Role | Military trainer |
| Manufacturer | Arado Flugzeugwerke |
| Designer | Walter Blume |
| First flight | 1938 |
| Introduction | 1939 |
| Primary users | Luftwaffe Czechoslovakian Air Force Hungarian Air Force Romanian Air Force |
| Number built | 2891 |
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.
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]
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.
| 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 |
Data from Aircraft of the Third Reich Vol.1[8]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine gun
