Submarines and their Weapons - Aircraft of World War II

63. Mainwheel door
64. Mainwheel retraction rod
65. Engine support arch
66. Leading-edge slat structure
67. Auxiliaries gearbox
68. Annular oil tank
69. Riedel starter motor housing
70. Engine air intake
71. Hinged cowling section
72. Junkers Jumo 004B-2 axial-flow
turbojet
73. Starboard mainwheel
74. Wing structure
75. Automatic leading-edge slats
76. Main spar
77. Starboard navigation light
78. Frise-type ailerons
79. Trim tab
80. Flettner-type geared tab
81. Starboard outer flap section
82. Engine exhaust orifice
83. Engine support bearer
84. Starboard inner flap structure
85. Faired wing root
Germany, but it might well have prolonged it by some
months by making inroads into the Allies' (especially
the Americans') strategic bombing campaign, thus
helping to maintain German manufacturing production
levels. The question of whether that would have
been a good or a bad thing lies outside the scope of
this work.
JET AIRCRAFT
Left: Despite its revolutionary wing form, the Me 262 was
constructed along entirely conventional lines, the only
limiting factor of the powerplant being the need to keep
the airframe components out of the exhaust stream.
THE Ar 234 'BLITZ'
The only other jet-propelled German aircraft to see
serious combat during World War II came not from
one of the major manufacturers, but from a relatively
minor player. Prior to the development of the Ar 234
'Blitz' ('Lightning') bomber (also known as the
'Hecht' - 'Pike'), the Arado company had only ever
been involved in the production of light aircraft.
Many of them, such as the Ar 196, were produced as
floatplanes, designed to operate from warships,
though that is not to say that its products were anything
less than excellent. In 1940, the RLM issued a
specification for a high-speed reconnaissance aircraft
to be powered by two jet engines, either Jumo 004s or
BMW 003s. Arado responded with a design - the
E.370 - for a shoulder-wing monoplane with engines
in under-slung nacelles, which was accepted as the Ar
234. Two prototypes were constructed over the winter
of 1941-42, but it was February 1943 before the first
pair of engines, the Jumo 004Bs, were delivered, and
15 June before the aircraft first flew. It was entirely
conventional for the period, save in one respect: the
fuselage was very slim and instead of a wheeled
undercarriage, it used a take-off trolley and landed on
skids. This was clearly unacceptable in an operational
aircraft since it made manoeuvring on the ground next
to impossible, so midway through the prototype programme,
the fuselage was marginally widened
beneath the wings, and main wheels and a retractable
nosewheel were installed. Arado engineers also developed
a rocket-powered interceptor, the E.381, which
was to have been carried as a parasite beneath the
fuselage of the Ar 234. Nothing came of the idea.
Most of the early Ar 234s were completed as
reconnaissance aircraft, and flew many successful
missions at 700km/h (435mph) at between 9000m
(29,530ft) and 12,000m (41,000ft), where they were
largely immune to attack, but a bomber version with
either one or two seats, and able to carry 2000kg
(4400lb) of bombs, was also produced. It was February
1945 before the first of these aircraft, assigned to
KG 76, were operational. One was shot down by
American P-47 Thunderbolts near Segelsdorf on 24
February, and fell into Allied hands. The most important
missions KG 76 undertook were those aimed at
the destruction of the Ludendorff Bridge over the