Arado Ar 196
Technical Information

Background
In October 1936, the the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) German Air Ministry tendered a design to replace the He 114 and use the BMW 132 radial engine. Arado submitted a low-wing monoplane floatplane design and four prototypes were ordered. The first prototype A Model was flown in May 1937 and prototype V2 with twin floats plus two prototype B models, V3 and V4 on a single float. Although both models performed well, the A Model was selected and a final prototype, V5, was produced in November 1938 to test the final design that was accepted by the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) as the Arado Ar 196.

Wartime History
During World War II, two Arado Ar 196s were transported aboard auxiliary cruisers Thor (HSK 4, Schiff 10) and Michel (Schiff 28) to Penang. During March 1944, these two Ar 196s in Japanese markings plus Japanese Aichi Type 0 Reconnaissance Seaplane / E13A1 (Jake) formed the East Asia Naval Special Service to aid the German Monsun Gruppe and Japanese naval forces in the area. The two Ar 196s were painted in Japanese markings and flown by Luftwaffe pilots under the command of Oberleutnant Ulrich Horn.

Production
A total of 541 were built. The first ten Ar 196 A-0s were delivered during November 1938 and December 1938. Five similarly equipped B-0s were also delivered to land-based squadrons. This was followed by 20 A-1 production models starting in June 1939, enough to equip the entire Kriegsmarine (German Navy) surface fleet.

Technical Details Ar 196 A-5
Crew  Two (pilot and observer)
Engine  1 × BMW 132W 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine 1,050 hp with three bladed propeller
Wingspan  2.4 m / 40 ft 8 in
Length  11 m (36 ft 1 in)
Height  4.45 m (14 ft 7 in)
Maximum Speed  332 km/h (206 mph, 179 kn)
Range  1,080 km / 670 miles / 580 nautical miles
Armament  2 x 20mm cannons (wings) with 90 rounds per gun, 1 x 7.92mm machine gun (cowling), 1 x 7.92mm MG 81Z maching gun (rear) with 2,000 rounds
Bombload  2 x 50kg / 100 lb bombs