The Arado Ar 76 was a German aircraft of the 1930s, designed as a light
fighter with a secondary role as an advanced
trainer in mind.
Development
Arado's response to a requirement by the ''
Reichsluftfahrtministerium'' (RLM) for a light / emergency fighter aircraft, was the Ar 76 which was evaluated against the
Heinkel He 74,
Focke-Wulf Fw 56
Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG () was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It is one of the p ...
, the
Henschel Hs 121
The Henschel Hs 121 was the first aircraft built by the German Henschel company. It was a high-wing monoplane with an inline engine, fixed undercarriage and single, open cockpit, designed as an advanced trainer. Only one aircraft was produced, i ...
and
Hs 125 in 1935. Although the Fw 56 was selected for the main production contract, the RLM was sufficiently impressed by the Ar 76 to order a small number of production aircraft as well.
Design
The Ar 76 was a
parasol-wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
with fixed,
tailwheel undercarriage
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...
. The wings were constructed of fabric-covered wood, and 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 aircraf ...
was fabric-covered steel tube.
Operational history
Production Ar 76A aircraft were used by
Jagdfliegerschulen (fighter pilot schools) from 1936.
Variants
''Data from:''
;Ar 76a
:First
prototype, (regn. D-ISEN).
;Ar 76 V2
:Second prototype, (regn. D-IRAS).
;Ar 76 V3
:Third prototype.
;Ar 76A
:Single-seat advanced trainer, lightweight fighter aircraft. Built in small numbers.
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 (Ar 76A-0)
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*''World Aircraft Information Files''. Brightstar Aerospace Publishing, London. File 889 Sheet 69.
{{RLM aircraft designations
Arado Ar 076
Arado Ar 076
Ar 076
Parasol-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1934