Arado Ar 232

what is it?

The Arado Ar 232 Tausendfüßler (German: "Millipede"), sometimes also called Tatzelwurm, was a cargo aircraft that was designed and produced in small numbers by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado Flugzeugwerke. It was designed during the first half of the Second World War in response to a request by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (German Air Ministry, RLM) for a successor or supplemental transport aircraft to the Luftwaffe's obsolescent Junkers Ju 52/3m. The Ar 232 introduced, or brought together, almost all of the features now considered to be standard in modern cargo transport aircraft designs, including a box-like fuselage slung beneath a high wing; a rear loading ramp (that had first appeared on the December 1939-flown Junkers Ju 90 V5 fifth prototype four-engined transport via its Trapoklappe), a high-mounted twin tail for easy access to the hold and features for operating from r

🔎How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · shoulder wing · 33.5 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 308 km/htop speed
• range 1,060 kmwithout refuelling
• size 21.2 tmax take-off weight
• built 20made 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 85 years ago, in 1941.
• 🏎️Top speed is 2.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 33.5 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 1,060 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

1941-06

introduced

1943

retired

1945

status

retired

number built

20

role

transport

origin

🇩🇪 Germany

makers

Arado Flugzeugwerke

engines

4× BMW Bramo 323R-2 Fafnir / Bramo 323 R Fafnir

crew

4

length

23.5 m

wingspan

33.5 m

height

5.7 m

max take-off weight

21.2 t

top speed

308 km/h

cruise speed

290 km/h

range

1,060 km

ceiling

6,900 m

wings

shoulder wing

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