Arado Ar 68

Arado Flugzeugwerke · Germany · first flew 1934 · fighter

The Arado Ar 68 was Germany's last operational biplane fighter, serving the nascent Luftwaffe in the mid-1930s before being superseded by the Messerschmitt Bf 109. It marked the end of the biplane era in German front-line service.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × piston, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	9.5 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

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Last Luftwaffe biplane fighter in front-line use
Single-bay sesquiplane with N-struts
Open cockpit, fixed spatted undercarriage

A biplane fighter with unequal-span wings, N-interplane struts, a long narrow nose cowling, and a spatted fixed undercarriage; the upper wing sits close to the fuselage unlike the gap seen in many contemporaries.

Specifications

The Arado Ar 68 has a length of 9.5 m (31 ft).
It has a wingspan of 11 m (36 ft).
Its maximum speed is 330 km/h (205 mph).
Typical crew: 1.

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

History

The Ar 68 entered Luftwaffe service in 1936, competing with the Heinkel He 51 for the front-line fighter role. Although surpassed by the Bf 109, examples soldiered on in training and night-fighter trials until the early years of World War II. It was a capable design for its time but quickly obsolete as monoplane fighters proved decisively superior.

Variants

Produced as the Ar 68E (Jumo engine) and Ar 68H (BMW engine); night fighter variants were also evaluated.

Where you'll see it

Equipped early Luftwaffe fighter Geschwader from 1936; relegated to training by 1939 and effectively withdrawn from front-line use before the outbreak of major combat.

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