Arado Ar 196

what is it?

The Arado Ar 196 is a shipboard reconnaissance low-wing monoplane aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado. It was the standard observation floatplane of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) throughout the Second World War, and was the only German seaplane to serve throughout the conflict. The Ar 196 was designed in response to the Kriegsmarine's requirement to replace the Heinkel He 60 biplane after the intended successor, the He 114, had proved to be unsatisfactory.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 piston engine with propeller · 12.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 332 km/htop speed
• range 1,080 kmwithout refuelling
• size 3,720 kgmax take-off weight
• built 541made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 89 years ago, in 1937.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 12.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,080 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1937-05

introduced

1937

number built

541

role

reconnaissance

origin

Nazi Germany

makers

Arado Flugzeugwerke

engines

1× BMW 132W

length

11 m

wingspan

12.4 m

height

4.5 m

max take-off weight

3,720 kg

top speed

332 km/h

range

1,080 km

ceiling

7,010 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.