Arado Ar 231

Arado Flugzeugwerke · Germany · first flew 1941 · light aircraft

The Arado Ar 231 was a tiny folding-wing floatplane designed to be stowed in a watertight canister aboard German Type IX U-boats for reconnaissance purposes. Its very small size and light construction were dictated entirely by submarine stowage constraints.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	7.81 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Collapsible-wing floatplane for U-boat stowage
Single-float configuration
Extremely compact dimensions for submarine storage

Identifiable by its extraordinarily small size, single central float, folding biplane wings, and enclosed cockpit designed for rapid submarine deployment.

Specifications

The Arado Ar 231 has a length of 7.81 m (26 ft).
It has a wingspan of 10.18 m (33 ft).
Its maximum speed is 170 km/h (106 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Developed in 1941, the Ar 231 proved impractical in service: assembly and disassembly in open ocean conditions took too long, and the aircraft's performance was marginal. Only six prototypes were built before the programme was cancelled, with submarines reverting to the more practical Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 autogyro.

Variants

Six prototypes only, with no production variants; minor structural changes were explored between examples but no definitive production standard was reached.

Where you'll see it

Never entered operational service; the handful of prototypes were evaluated by the Kriegsmarine but the concept was abandoned in favour of towed autogyros.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 4,893 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.