avia.wikisort.org - Aeroplane
The Arado Ar 231 was a lightweight floatplane, developed during World War II in Germany as a scout plane for submarines by Arado. The need to be stored inside the submarine necessitated compromises in design that made this single-seat seaplane of little practical use.
| Ar 231 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Arado Ar 231 model, front view, showing the special wing configuration | |
| Role | Submarine-borne reconnaissance floatplane |
| National origin | Germany |
| Manufacturer | Arado Flugzeugwerke |
| First flight | 1941 |
| Number built | 6 |
Design and development
Designed from the outset for use on U-boat "cruisers", like the Type XI B, the Ar 231 was a light parasol-wing aircraft. The aircraft was powered by a 119 kW (160 hp) Hirth HM 501 inline engine, weighed around 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), and had a 10 m (33 ft) wingspan. The design led to a simple and compact aircraft that could be fitted into a storage cylinder only 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter. For ease of storage, the Ar 231's wings featured detachable sections that two operators could remove in less than six minutes. One unusual feature was an offset wing design, with the right wing root attaching to the wing's tilted center section (elevated above the fuselage, as on all parasol-wing designs) and lower than the left wing root, to allow the wings to overlap when folded, so as to occupy less space.
Operational history
Testing soon revealed the Ar 231s to be fragile, underpowered, and difficult to fly even during calm weather, and, as a result, development ended in favour of the Focke Achgelis Fa 330 gyroglider. Some of the testing was done on the auxiliary cruiser Stier, two of the six prototypes being taken on one voyage.
Specifications (Ar 231 V1)
Data from German aircraft of the Second World War[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 7.81 m (25 ft 7 in)
- Wingspan: 10.18 m (33 ft 5 in)
- Height: 3.12 m (10 ft 3 in)
- Wing area: 15.2 m2 (164 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 833 kg (1,836 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,050 kg (2,315 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × Hirth HM 501 6-cylinder air-cooled inverted in-line piston engine, 120 kW (160 hp)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 170 km/h (110 mph, 92 kn)
- Cruise speed: 130 km/h (81 mph, 70 kn)
- Range: 500 km (310 mi, 270 nmi)
- Endurance: 4 hours
- Service ceiling: 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
- Wing loading: 69.1 kg/m2 (14.2 lb/sq ft)
- Power/mass: 0.113 kW/kg (0.069 hp/lb)
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of submarine-borne aircraft
- List of World War II military aircraft of Germany
- List of military aircraft of Germany
References
- Smith, J.R.; Kay, Antony L. (1972). German aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam. p. 35. ISBN 0-85177-836-4.
External links
На других языках
[de] Arado Ar 231
Die Arado Ar 231 war ein deutsches U-Boot-gestütztes Erkundungsflugzeug der Arado Flugzeugwerke.- [en] Arado Ar 231
[fr] Arado Ar 231
L'Arado Ar 231 est un hydravion léger monoplace de reconnaissance de la Seconde Guerre mondiale destiné à être utilisé par les sous-marins allemands.[it] Arado Ar 231
L'Arado Ar 231 era un idroricognitore monomotore ad ala alta a parasole realizzato dall'azienda tedesca Arado Flugzeugwerke GmbH nei primi anni quaranta e rimasto allo stadio di prototipo.[ru] Arado Ar 231
Арадо Ar 231 (нем. Arado Ar 231) — немецкий лёгкий одномоторный военный гидросамолёт времён Второй мировой войны. Предназначался для использования в качестве самолёта-разведчика на больших подводных лодках кригсмарине.Другой контент может иметь иную лицензию. Перед использованием материалов сайта WikiSort.org внимательно изучите правила лицензирования конкретных элементов наполнения сайта.
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