2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Arado Ar 234 at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: Nick-D· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Arado AR 234 B Blitz: Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net ).· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The Arado Ar 234 Blitz ("Lightning") is a jet-powered bomber designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado. It was the world's first operational turbojet-powered bomber, seeing service during the final months of the Second World War. Development of the Ar 234 can be traced back to the latter half of 1940 and the request to tender from the Ministry of Aviation to produce a jet-powered high-speed reconnaissance aircraft.
How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 14.4 m wingspan
base stats
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 83 years ago, in 1943.
- Top speed is 5.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 14.4 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Range of 1,556 km: 9× Amsterdam to Brussels.
- Can fly 1.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1943-07-30
- introduced
- 1944
- retired
- 1945
- status
- retired
- number built
- 244
- role
- reconnaissance / bomber
- origin
- 🇩🇪 Germany
- makers
- Arado Flugzeugwerke
- engines
- 4× Junkers Jumo 004B-1 / Walter HWK 109-500A-1
- crew
- 1
- length
- 12.6 m
- wingspan
- 14.4 m
- height
- 4.3 m
- max take-off weight
- 9,800 kg
- top speed
- 742 km/h
- cruise speed
- 700 km/h
- range
- 1,556 km
- ceiling
- 10,000 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q157335, Wikipedia: Arado Ar 234 Blitz (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.