Blitz file photo [3180]

Ar 234 Blitz

CountryGermany
ManufacturerArado Flugzeugwerke
Primary RoleMedium Bomber
Maiden Flight15 June 1943

Contributor:

ww2dbaseThe Ar 234 Blitz ("Lightning") bombers were the results of a 1941 Germany military request for a jet-powered reconnaissance aircraft. The first two prototypes were completed in 1941, but delays with the Junkers Jumo 004 engine caused the flight to be postponed until 15 Jun 1943. The design for the bomber variant, 234B, began immediately. The bomber variant prototype took flight in Mar 1944. By the end of Jun 1944, a small number of bomber variants already entered service, but they did not impress the pilots. Although fast and maneuverable in the air, the bomber pilots complained that the takeoffs required long runways. Meanwhile, the maintenance crews were stunned that the jet engines required overhaul after only ten hours of operation. On 2 Aug 1944, an Ar 234 aircraft completed a reconnaissance mission over Normandy, France, which was a first in history. In Oct 1944, German bomber group Kampfgeschwader 76 began its conversion to fly Ar 234B-2 aircraft; the group's first combat mission was to take place during the Dec 1944 Ardennes Offensive. In Mar 1945, a number of Ar 234B aircraft attempted to destroy the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, Germany. Their final combat action would be the defense of Berlin, during which they bombed Soviet troop concentrations. Toward the end of the war, 14 Ar 234C variants were built (although less than half of them were actually fitted with BMW 003A jet engines); they featured pressurized cabins. By the end of the war, a total of 210 Ar 234 aircraft were built. Many of them did not enter service simply because there was not enough jet fuel.

ww2dbaseSources:
Robert Dorr, Fighting Hitler's Jets
Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Mar 2007

Ar 234 Blitz Timeline

15 Jun 1943 The world's first turbojet reconnaissance bomber, the Arado Ar 234V-1 Blitz (GK-IV), made its maiden flight at Rheine, Germany with Flugkapitän Selle in the cockpit.
2 Oct 1943 Ar 234V-2 jet bomber suffered a fire in its wing and crashed at Rheine Airfield north of Munster, Germany, killing test pilot Flugkapitän Selle.
10 Mar 1944 Ar 234B jet aircraft took its first flight with civilian test pilot Joachim Carl in the cockpit.
2 Aug 1944 Leutnant Erich Sommer flew an Ar 234 V7 prototype aircraft over the Allied Normandy beachheads in France while the two Rb 50/30 cameras on board took a photograph every 11 seconds. This was the first jet aircraft reconnaissance mission in aviation history.
12 Dec 1944 German pilot Willi Kriessmann ferried an Ar 234 jet bomber from Hamburg, Germany to German Luftwaffe bomber group Kampfgeschwader 76.
1 May 1945 German pilot Willi Kriessmann ferried an Ar 234 jet bomber to German Luftwaffe bomber group Kampfgeschwader 76.
24 Jun 1945 A German Ar 234 aircraft surrendered to the British at Sola Airfield in Stavanger, Norway. This aircraft was later flown from Sola for Cherbourg, France, where it would be embarked onto a ship for transport to the United States.
8 Jul 1945 British carrier HMS Reaper arrived at Newark, New Jersey, United States with a captured German Ar 234 aircraft aboard.
20 Jul 1945 British carrier HMS Reaper departed Cherbourg, France with a captured German Ar 234 aircraft aboard.

SPECIFICATIONS

234B-2
MachineryTwo Junkers Jumo 004B-1 turbojets rated at 4050 lbf (18 kN) each
Armament2x20mm MG 151 cannon, 2x500kg or 1x1,000kg or 1x1,400kg bomb(s)
Crew1
Span14.41 m
Length12.64 m
Height4.30 m
Wing Area26.40 m²
Weight, Empty5,200 kg
Weight, Maximum9,850 kg
Speed, Maximum742 km/h
Rate of Climb13.00 m/s
Service Ceiling10,000 m
Range, Normal800 km

Photographs

Ar 234 Blitz bomber in flight, circa 1944Ar 234 Blitz bomber resting at an airfield, circa 1944German Ar 234 Blitz bomber dropping its bomb load, circa 1944Fw 190 F, Arado Ar 234 B, and Do 335 A Pfeil aircraft, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia, United States, 26 Apr 2009; fuselage of He 219 Uhu night fighter in back




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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Dan says:
24 May 2008 06:41:06 AM

Does any one know a site that has WWII weapons and their statistics?Thanks
2. Commenter identity confirmed Bill says:
13 Jan 2011 09:10:55 AM

HISTORY THAT NEVER HAPPENED: WHAT IF'S Arado Ar. E.555-1 was a paper project that was never built However, a mockup and a wind tunnel model were tested. The project never went beyond the drawing board. The Ar.E.555 would have been a flying wing bomber design, powered by six-turbojet engines. Designed to attack targets in theUSA. Armed w/20 and 30mm cannons all weapons were remote-controlled, the bomber also had tail gun position. The Ar.E.555 was a very clean design thefuselage was blended into the wing with seperate vertical tailfins on each side thewings. Cockpit was glazed like the US B-29 the jets were mounted on top of the wing, equipped with ejection seats, radar bombing and navigation equipment. Bombload would have been 3x500kg SC500 and 2x1000 SC1000kg bombs. Aircraft could have carried two stand-off missiles, like the Fritz X, Range 6,027 miles. FANTASY/ADVENTURE: Raiders of the Lost Ark,the fictional German flying wing aircraft in the movie.Similar in design, but not identical theaircraft in the movie was equipped with propelled-drived engines, the Ar.E.555 wasto be powered by turbojets.Nevertheless, it was a very good fictional adventure 1930s Nazi airplane.
3. Anonymous says:
20 Aug 2021 10:25:53 AM

what is it with germans and their engenes being faulty

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Ar 234 Blitz Medium Bomber Photo Gallery
Ar 234 Blitz bomber in flight, circa 1944
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