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)

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