The Arado Ar 197 was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
-era
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
, designed for naval operations for the never-completed German
aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
. Only a few
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
s were built; the project was abandoned in favour of the Messerschmitt
Bf 109T and
Me 155.
Design and development
The Ar 197 had its origin in the requirement for a
fighter capable of operating from the planned (but never completed) German aircraft carriers ''Graf Zeppelin'' and ''Peter Strasser''. The
Ar 68H had been the first Arado aircraft to have a fully enclosed
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
, and was selected as a base design for the Arado Ar 197.
The first
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
of the Ar 197, the V1, was based on the Ar 68H and featured a fully enclosed cockpit,
Daimler-Benz
The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...
DB 600A
inline engine, and three-blade
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
, but was not fitted for naval operations. The second prototype, the Ar 197 V2, was similar to the V1, but was powered by a
BMW 132
The BMW 132 was a nine-cylinder radial aircraft engine produced by BMW starting in 1933.
Design and development
BMW took over a license for manufacturing air-cooled radial engines from Pratt & Whitney on 3 January 1928. The nine-cylinder model ...
Dc
radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
, and was fitted with naval equipment, including an
arrester hook and
catapult spools. Both the Ar 197 V1 and V2 flew in the spring of 1937. In the summer of 1937 a third prototype, the V3, was built. It was powered by a more powerful
BMW radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
and was the first prototype fitted with weapons, being armed with two 7.92 mm (.312 in)
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s and one 20 mm
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
. The V3 was also fitted with racks under the
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
which could carry four 50 kg (110 lb) bombs, an auxiliary
fuel tank
A fuel tank (also called a petrol tank or gas tank) is a safe container for flammable fluids. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propel ...
, or a smoke-laying canister.
Operational history
The Ar 197 V3 was selected to participate in evaluation, but was not chosen for production. By the time the ''Graf Zeppelin'' was to have been completed, biplanes such as the Ar 197 would have been hopelessly outclassed as fighters. In 1939, the Bf 109T, the naval version of the
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
fighter plane, was selected as the successor to the Arado Ar 197, and in 1941, the
Me 155 was selected as the successor to the Bf 109T.
Operators
;
* ''
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
''
Specifications (Arado Ar 197 V3)
See also
References
* Kay, Anthony L. and Smith, J. Richard. ''German Aircraft of the Second World War''. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2002. .
{{RLM aircraft designations
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
1930s German fighter aircraft
Carrier-based aircraft
Ar 197