Arado Ar-234

Should you be interested in owning a painting of a famous Luftwaffe bomber that was flown by Kriessmann please let me know.

Print Number One in a Series of Famous Luftwaffe Aircraft by Aviation Artist/Historian,

Limited Edition prints are signed and numbered by the artist and co-signed by the Luftwaffe pilot.

The aircraft that I painted was flown twice by Wilhelm Kriessmann. This famous jet bomber is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

After the war this aircraft was tested by American pilots along with other captured Luftwaffe aircraft.

In the above Smithsonian photo, you can see the Walter rockets mounted under the wing outside of the turbo-jet.

During several rocket assisted take-offs, one of the rockets would fire before the other sending the aircraft into a spin.

Wilhelm told me that he had one take off in the Ar-234 with the Walter rockets and he was relieved that everything went well.

Below are artworks I have scanned from other text. There is very little artwork on the Ar-234.

This shows the clean profile of the jet bomber. As Wilhelm told me, the pilot had a view of the front only. No rear view.

This is a scan from the box-top of a Lindberg 1/72 scale model of the Ar-234. This is a perfect specimen of jet aircraft progression.

This photo is a scan of the model instructions of the Lindberg 1/72 scale model. These images display the aircraft design very well.

With the invent of the Ar-234, Heinkel He-162, Me-163 and the Me-262, the Luftwaffe stepped into the future.

I asked Wilhelm to tell me his impression of the Ar-234. Each aircraft has its particular characteristics. This was the only jet that Wilhelm was trained to fly.

"An aerodynamically beautifully designed aircraft. Smooth. Elegant lines from cockpit to aft.

Wings shoulder high therefore wide front vision, however no rear vision at all.

Unusual procedure for a prop pilot starting out in the jet. But then after getting familiar was really

simple. Problematic at take off and landing because of the delicate necessary handling of the throttle in correcting the speed.

When accelerating or decelerating too sudden moves of the throttle caused flame out or worse burn out and melting of the blades because of sudden 
overheating. Pilots jargon "Schaufelsalat" =blades salat. Therefor  you had to take certain steps:

Take off: Proper line up of the plane. You could not correct directions with throttle  as with prop planes.

Start by stepping on the brakes, push the throttle gently forward and release the brakes gently.

Once in the air the Hecht reacted to all steering  beautifully.

Restarting of a flamed out jet engine causes no problem.

At the height of 9000 meters you felt like "gliding like a silent angel."

Landing: Again corrections with the throttle impossible.

Therefor think far more ahead than with your prop plane.

Correct direction, correct height and proper speed Pilot jargon = "Fahrt ist halbes Leben,"

Speed is half of your life. Besides you had a "breaking Parachute in your aft."

Arado Ar-234 Development

The original design concept was for the Arado 234 to be a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft and bomber.

The addition requirement for the Arado being used as a bomber was a request form Hitler in his desperate search for the ultimate terror bomber.

Thus the Ar-234 was given the name Blitz or "Lighting."

In 1940 and 1941 German aero engineers were instructed to try to incorporate the new engines that were being developed by Junkers into their new aircraft designs.

Walter Blume began the original design in 1941 after reviewing the specifications for a jet-powered high altitude aircraft with a range of 1,300 miles.

The design was very simple with high set wings with one Jumo 004B turbojet under each wing. The entire nose of the aircraft was in fact the cockpit.

The only way to obtain the flight time requirement was to eliminate any landing gear because of the weight.

The idea of a wheeled assist trolley was born even though it was temporary, thank goodness!

The Arado was fitted onto the trolley which it used to taxi and for take off. Once the jet became airborne it lifted from the cradle of the trolley.

The Arado was then fitted with landing skids that extended from the bottom of the engine nuclei and nose.

The Arado is simply to large an aircraft to treat like a child's glider. Plus here you have a jet-powered aircraft using the most primitive system possible.

The only redeeming feature of the development of the operational aircraft was that this procedure was temporary and overcome in short order.

Only to find that at the very end of the war, the German ground crews were using mules to help taxi aircraft around the airfield!

Jet aircraft pulled by donkey's? Making lemon aid when life gives you lemons?

The Arado 234 first flew on June 15, 1943 with the three wheel trolley. Extensive trials were continued with eight different prototypes.

The ninth prototype was equipped with landing gear, model Ar-234V9 flew in March 1944.

The first operational Ar-234B-0 flew on June 8, 1944. This was the aircraft destined for operational squadron delivery in September of that year.

The cockpit was pressurized and well laid out for the pilot. All gauges were in full view displayed from right to left contouring with the wind screen.

Arado Ar-234B-1 was equipped with an ejector seat, auto-pilot and drop tanks which were attached to the bottom of the engine nuclei.

Most of the jets were equipped to carry a variety of bomb loads. The B-1 flew ineffective single bombing flights over England.

One high altitude jet with only two bombs was mealy a nuisance.

The jet did prove to be somewhat effective in the Battle of the Bulge and in attacking the famous Remagen bridge that crossed the Rhine.

Not a tide turning event in the over all aviation dynamics of the battles, only because of the limited number of aircraft available.

The object of my research and painting is the B-1 model. The continuing development of the Arado 234 is so exciting.

From two Jumo's to four this design had the best potential for exactly what Hitler wanted for a terror weapon.

The jet served until the very end of the war with several operational units on all fronts.

Arado Ar-234 Specifications

The fuselage of the jet was 41 feet 5 1/2 inches long.

Wingspan: 46 feet 3 1/2 inches.

The operational jet weighed 11,464 empty and 18,541 fully loaded.

The additional weight of extra fuel or munitions could reach 21,715 pounds which required assisted rocket take off.

Maximum speed with no attachments like bombs or drop tanks was 461mph.

The range of the jet loaded with 3,300lbs of bombs was 684 miles.

The aircraft when used for reconnaissance duties and no bomb load was 1,000 miles.

Aircraft ceiling was 32,800 feet or 10,000 meters.

The only operational defensive guns were two 20mm cannon, which were fitted to fire to the rear of the aircraft,

sighted with a periscope by the pilot as he was trying to concentrate on flying a jet bomber, hauling ass!

(Somebody needs to dope slap a German designer for that last one!)

Arado Ar-234B-1 front view. Artwork from Profile Magazine.

Below is the top view of the jet bomber.

My only personal comment is the following;

The Arado Ar-234 should have never been used as a bomber.

The aircraft should have been fitted with four 20mm cannon and flown into the middle of an American bomber formation.

A flight of six to ten of these jet-fighters could just about drop a bomber on each pass.

That is what this jet aircraft should have been used for.

Here is the Jet bomber with a bomb. Artwork from "Luftwaffe Combat Aircraft."

Look at the skids for the aircraft.

This was a rugged airframe because the first prototypes were used over and over.

The Ar-234 would gracefully slide right in on her belly. No problem.

This is a page from a model magazine I got when I was in the 10th grade.

The magazine was defective in that the tail of each artwork was eschewed by bad publishing.

The artist name was Chivers. His profiles were water color renderings.

To read about Wilhelm's exciting carrier as a Luftwaffe bomber pilot go to his story below.