# Arado Ar-240



## cheddar cheese (Jan 20, 2005)

Heres a plane that Ive recently been reading up on; the Arado Ar-240.

From its statistics it seems like it was probably a damned good plane, but if so, why havent I heard much of it in the past? Did it even see much, if any service? I would think so because it was built in A, B and C varients. Any more information on this would be greatly appreciated.

So you can see what Im on about, here are some stats I found on www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org and a picture. 



> Type: Destroyer heavy fighter
> Origin: Arado Flugzeugwerke GmbH
> Models: A, B, C Series
> First Flight: May 10, 1940
> ...


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## Medvedya (Jan 20, 2005)

Did you bung that lot into the database? I'm trying to beef that up a bit. When we are able to mod the stats ourselves and add the relevant pictures from the albums you'll see a few things happening there!


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 20, 2005)

never really thought about putting planes into the database, might have a go sometime..........


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## cheddar cheese (Jan 20, 2005)

I just added that lot...

Now I want some more info on the Arado!


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 20, 2005)

well if you want my opinion i don't think it'd be capable of those stats..........


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## cheddar cheese (Jan 20, 2005)

Me neither but it was...its pig ugly too but it seems like its a good plane.


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 20, 2005)

i really don't think it could..........


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jan 21, 2005)

The Ar-240 was to be the replacement for the Me-110 however it was not a very stable aircraft and the design as you said was ugly was also not very good although it did have good performance as you also stated.



> The Arado Ar 240 was a twin-engine multi-role heavy fighter aircraft developed for the Luftwaffe during World War II by Arado Flugzeugwerke. Its first flight was in 1940, but problems with the design hampered development and it remained only marginally stable through the prototype phase. The project was eventually cancelled, with the existing airframes used for a variety of test purposes.
> The Ar 240 came about as the response to a 1938 request for a much more capable 2nd generation heavy fighter to replace the Messerschmitt Me 110, which was becoming outdated. Both Arado and Messerschmitt responded. Messerschmitt's response, the Me 210, was essentially a cleaned up version of the 110 with more power, and would be able to enter service quickly. Arado's design was considerably more ambitious, a dream project of Arado's chief designer, Walter Blume, since the mid-1930s. While it would take some time before deliveries of the Arado design could begin, the RLM was nevertheless interested enough to order prototypes of both designs.
> 
> Prior to this point Arado had invested heavily in several lines of basic research. One was the development of the "Arado travelling flap" which offered excellent low-speed lift performance. Another was ongoing work into the design and construction of pressurized cockpits, which dramatically lower pilot fatigue for any flight above about 15,000ft. Finally they had also invested in a technically advanced remote-control defensive gun system, which they had been experimenting with for several years. The system used a gunsight located in the rear cockpit, operated by the navigator/gunner, which had optics on both the top and bottom of the aircraft allowing aim in any direction. The gunsight was hydraulically connected to well-streamlined "pancake" shaped turrets on the top and bottom of the aircraft. For the Ar 240 design, the Arado engineers combined all of this research into a single airframe.
> ...


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## cheddar cheese (Jan 21, 2005)

Thanks 8) So it was unstable...shame. Those performance stats are enough to shame an awful lot f planes.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jan 21, 2005)

As was said in the post the C models were used as recon over England because it was the only recon aircraft fast eneogh to fly up there and come back. But as far as I know they were still unarmed.


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 21, 2005)

yes but CC many planes put the 240's stability to shame as well


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jan 21, 2005)

Like my post said it was not a very stable plane.


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 21, 2005)

no matter what the stats say about a plane, if she aint stable she's useless.........


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jan 21, 2005)

not completely true, she was a descent recon aircraft, she was just useless in her original intent.


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## cheddar cheese (Jan 21, 2005)

the lancaster kicks ass said:


> no matter what the stats say about a plane, if she aint stable she's useless.........



Blohm und Voss obviously didnt abide by that rule


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jan 22, 2005)

Very true they had some very unique unstable designs.


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 22, 2005)

which is why they made some of the most widely used and massed produced planes of the war


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## GermansRGeniuses (Jan 22, 2005)

"The Ar-240. A seemingly good plane, but why isnt it more well known?"



Too many problems, too much development time.


Also, Arado made good planes, but as far as I know, they weren't held that high in Nazi hierarchy, like Heinkel.


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 23, 2005)

well their most well known planes hed to be the 196 and the blitz.........


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## cheddar cheese (Jan 23, 2005)

Yeah. The 232 wasnt bad either...


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jan 23, 2005)

GermansRGeniuses said:


> "The Ar-240. A seemingly good plane, but why isnt it more well known?"
> 
> 
> 
> ...



And that was the main reason for the Ar-240. It was never accepted and was never developed to its full potential. The Nazi hierarchy prefered Heinkel, Tank, and Messerschmitt's designs and gave them the most attention.


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## Chocks away! (Jan 30, 2005)

well there's a whole lot of relatively unknown german designs that are fascinating nonetheless. I don't see what's so special about the particular aircraft.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jan 30, 2005)

The Arado Ar-234 Blitz was the first aircraft of the world of its type. It was an excellent design and had it been built and used properly it could have made a large impact.


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## cheddar cheese (Jan 30, 2005)

Yes, the Blitz was a great plane. Reasonable payload and armament, fast, good range for a jet of that era.


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 30, 2005)

but no ammount of numbers could have saved it.............


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## cheddar cheese (Jan 30, 2005)

Probably not. Certainly wouldnt have helped us though...


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## the lancaster kicks ass (Jan 30, 2005)

cirtainly not..........


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jan 30, 2005)

I dont think it ever would have been built in large numbers, not with the need for more fighters to combat the allied bombers. Fortunatly Hitler did not see this before hand and abandon the ground attack program and get the fighter program into full capacity.


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## Vahe Demirjian (Dec 11, 2019)

I read on Wikipedia that Arado built an improved version of the Ar 240, the Ar 440, which would have had a fuselage stretched by 3 feet and two Daimler-Benz DB 603G engines. Production aircraft would have had 2 DB 627 engines. Just four Ar 440s were built, and the Ar 440 was not ordered into production.


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## Denniss (Dec 12, 2019)

No Ar 440 was ever built, just some conversion of Ar 240 prototypes. Neither DB 603G nor DB 627 went into production so it would have to rely on DB 603E engines.

Reactions: Like Like:
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## fubar57 (Dec 12, 2019)

That's the problem with using Wiki as a source. One of the references was the Schiffer book "Ar 240" and the Ar 440 isn't mentioned. The book "German Aircraft of the Second World War" mentions two prototype Ar 440s using the DB603G but as Denniss says, this engine production never came about. The DB 627 was a prototype DB 603E fitted with a two-stage supercharger and after-cooler


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