Arado Ar 76
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ar 76 | |
|---|---|
 Arado Ar 76 V3 photo from Le Pontentiel Aérien Mondial 1936 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Arado |
| Designer | |
| Primary user | Luftwaffe |
| Number built | 189[2] |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1936 |
| First flight | April 1934[1] |
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.[1]
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, the Henschel Hs 121 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.[1]
Design
The Ar 76 was a parasol-wing monoplane with fixed, tailwheel undercarriage. The wings were constructed of fabric-covered wood, and the fuselage was fabric-covered steel tube.[1]
It was powered by an Argus As 10C inverted V8 which produced 240 horsepower (180 kW) and was capable of propelling the Ar 76 up to a maximum speed of 267 km/h (166 mph) and to a maximum altitude of 6,400 m (21,000 ft).[3]
When used as a fighter the Ar 76 was armed with twin 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns which were mounted above the engine and each had access to 250 rounds. However, when used as an advanced trainer, it only carried a single MG 17.[3] Alongside this it could also carry two 10 kg (22 lb) SC 10 bombs, one under each wing.[3]
Operational history
Production Ar 76A aircraft were used by Jagdfliegerschulen (fighter pilot schools) from 1936.[1]
