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Germany's Arado Ar 234 "Blitz" (Lightning) bomber^1,2,3

Arado Ar 234 A Blitz:

Arado Ar 234 A Blitz:

Arado Ar 234 B Blitz:

Arado Ar 234 C Blitz:

The Blitz was the world's first jet bomber.^1,2

Design

The first prototype was delivered during the winter of 1941/1942 but had to wait for it's first flight because of the delay of the Junkers Jumo turbojets.^1,2

The Ar 234 could mount two Walter rocket assisted take off devices under the wings.¹ This was needed as it took 1,250' / 380 m of runway to get in air.¹

Also on take off, the Ar 234 was mounted to a wheeled trolley that was jettisoned after take off in the prototypes.^1,2,3 The aircraft would then land on a skid.¹ Later models had tricycle landing gear installed.¹

The turbojets only had a life of 25 hours.¹

There was an ejection seat installed for the pilot.^1,2 Other new features that the Ar 234 had was a pressurized cockpit, autopilot, and bombing computer.³

Prototype

The prototype Ar 234 was first flown on June 15, 1943.^2,3

The pre production Ar 234B-0 was flown in June 1944.³

The Ar 234C prototype first flew in February 1944.³

Production

Production models were designated the Ar 234 B.¹

• Prototypes: 30³
• Pre production: 20³
• Ar 234B-1 and B-2: 210³
• Ar 234C: 14³
• Total: 274³

Variants

• Ar 234V6: Had four BMW 003A-1 turbojets.²
• Ar 234V8: Had four BMW 003A-1 turbojets.²
• Ar 234B-0: Pre production.³
• Ar 234B: Production version.^1,2 Had tricycle landing gear.²
• Ar 234B-1: Unarmed reconnaissance version.^2,3 Deliveries started in September 1944.³
• Ar 234B-2: Bomber.^2,3
• Ar 234B-2/b: Reconnaissance.²
• Ar 234B-2/1: Pathfinder.²
• Ar 234B-2/r: Long range bomber.²
• Ar 234C: Had four BMW 003A-1 turbojets.¹ May never have gotten off the ground.¹

Usage

It was first used in the reconnaissance role in late 1944 by flying over the United Kingdom.¹

On Christmas Eve 1944, they were used in a raid on allied supplies in Liege, Belgium.¹ They were again used in the Ardennes battle and at Remagen in 1945.^1,3

Operations ceased in March 1945.¹

Reconnaissance Units

The 1 /Versuchsverband Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe first used the Ar 234 B-1 in late 1944.² The next unit to receive them was the Sonderkommando Hecht and Sperling.²

In 1945 these units were replaced by 1 (F)/33, 1 (F)/100, and 1 (F)/123.²

KG 76

The Ar 234 was used by the KG 76 starting in January 1945 and carried out a number of bombing raids.²

Kommando Bonow

The Kommando Bonow used some Ar 234s as night fighters.²

	Arado Ar 234 Blitz3	Arado Ar 234B-21,2,3	Arado Ar 234C3
Type	Bomber3 Reconnaissance3	Bomber1,2 Reconnaissance1
Crew	13	11,2
Engine (Type)	2: Junkers Jumo 004B turbojets3	2: BMW 003A-1 turbojets2 2: Junkers Jumo 004B-1 Orkan turbojets1	4: BMW 003A turbojets3
Thrust - BMW		1,764 lb2 7.85 kN2	1,760 lb3 7.9 kN3
Thrust - Junkers	1,980 lb3 8.9 kN3	1,975 lb1 8.8 kN1
Dimensions
Span	46 3.5"3 14.11 m3	46'1, 46' 3.5"2 14.44 m1,2
Length	41' 5.5"3 12.64 m3	41'1, 41' 5.5"2 12.64 m1,2
Height	14' 1.25"3 4.3 m3	14'1, 14' 1.5"2 4.29 m1,2
Wing area		284.17 ft2 2, 294 ft2 1 27.3 m2 1,2
Weight
Empty		11,440 lb1, 11,464 lb2,3 5,200 kg2,3, 5,300 kg1
Normal load		18,540 lb3 8,410 kg3
Loaded		21,560 lb1, 21,6052, 21,715 lb3 9,800 kg1,2, 9,850 kg3
Performance
Speed @ 19,685' / 6,000 m		461 mph2 742 kph2
Speed @ 20,000' / 6,000 m		460 mph1 742 kph1
Speed @ 26,250' / 8,000 m	460 mph3 740 kph3
Speed @ 32,810' / 10,000 m	435 mph3 700 kph3
Climb to 19,685' / 6,000 m	12.8 minutes3	12.8 minutes2
Service ceiling	32,810'3 10,000 m3	32,810'2, 33,000'1 10,000 m1,2
Range	1,013 miles3 1,630 km3	1,010 miles1, 1,013 miles2 1,630 km1,2
Range with max bomb load	684 miles3 1,100 km3
Armament
Rear firing	2: 20 mm3
Bombs	3,307 lb3 1,500 kg3	4,400 lb1, 4,409 lb2 1,995 kg1, 2,000 kg2

Sources:

1. Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
2. Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
3. Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998

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