Ar 196 A-3

This page is about the gift German bomber Ar 196 A-3. For the Swedish version, see Ar 196 A-5 (Sweden).

Ar 196 A-3

Ar 196 A-3

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	1.3	1.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Bomber

Light bomber

Hydroplane

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

Description

In 1936, the Kriegsmarine sought for a replacement to their existing biplane ship-launched floatplanes. The German Air Ministry helped with the aircraft selection and sent orders out for companies to send their contenders. Arado submitted their Ar 196 design alongside Focke-Wulf, Dornier, and Gota-Vagon-Fabrik in Autumn 1936. Among the competition, the Arado design won out and entered production in November 1938. Aside from its ship-launched variant, a land-based variant was also designed and entered production in 1939 as the A-2 that saw addition of weapons and the capability to carry ordnance. By the end of 1940, the Ar 196 A-3 began production for use in coastal patrol roles. Several samples also found its way to Germany-aligned or conquered countries like Bulgaria, Romania, Finland, and Norway. Additionally, a portion of the machines fell into the hands of the USSR as trophies and were used in aviation border units until the late 1950s, with their BMW 132K engines being replaced by domestic ASH-62IR engines.

Introduced during Update "Starfighters" as a reward for the 2020 Operation S.U.M.M.E.R. event, the Ar 196 A-3 has since been made available in the game as a ship-launched reconnaissance aircraft in naval battles. Considered as one of the best naval scouts in history, nicknamed "the eyes of the Kriegsmarine"! The Ar 196 A-3 has every chance of becoming the new king of the sandpit: it is armed with a pair of 20 mm MG FF cannons and an MG 17 rifle-calibre machine gun, it can also carry 2 x 50 kg bombs under its wings. The Ar 196 A-3 also has a defensive turret with a 7.92 mm machine gun, which is quite good in the initial ranks. And of course, just like the other hydroplanes in the game, the Ar 196 A-3 is able to capture control points in naval battles.

Ships that carry the Ar 196 A-3 as a ship-launched reconnaissance aircraft

• Admiral Graf Spee
• Admiral Hipper
• Karlsruhe
• Prinz Eugen
• Scharnhorst

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 2 000 m320 km/h

Turn time21 s

Max altitude6 000 m

EngineBMW 132K

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight3 t

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 2,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	300	292	6000	22.2	23.2	4.1	4.1	450
Upgraded	344	320		19.9	21.0	11.2	7.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
570	550	498	469	320	~9	~8

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 270	< 280	< 250	> 324

Survivability and armour

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural570 km/h

Gear550 km/h

• No armour protection
• Self-sealing fuel tanks in the floats

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB148

RB193

SB2 659

Crew training450

Experts3 000

Aces45

Research Aces220 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 20 / 40 / 80 %

2 × 100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Radiator Compressor Wings repair Engine Engine injection	Airframe Cover	mg_belt_pack mgff_belt_pack mg17_new_gun mg_turret_belt_pack mgff_new_gun mg15_turret_new_gun

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 12 x 20 mm MG FF cannon

Ammunition120 rounds

Fire rate520 shots/min

Weapon 27.92 mm MG 17 machine gun

Ammunition500 rounds

Fire rate1 200 shots/min

The Ar 196 A-3 is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm MG FF cannons, wing-mounted (60 rpg = 120 total)
• 1 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun, fuselage-mounted (500 rpg)

For different roles, different belts should be used. For air battles, Air Targets should be loaded, because it contains the most HE rounds. The 7.92 mm can be loaded with Universal or Stealth. However, if your aim is less than stellar, Tracers will help you aim. In naval, however, Stealth should be loaded for the MG FFs. Contrary their name, Stealth belts are actually not at all stealthy as every round fired can be seen. They can be used instead for attacking ships, and hitting components. The 7.92 mm can be loaded with Tracers or Universal.

Suspended armament

List of setups (1)

Setup 12 x 50 kg SC50JA bomb

The Ar 196 A-3 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 2 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (100 kg total)

Defensive armament

Turret7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun

Ammunition525 rounds

Fire rate1000 shots/min

The Ar 196 A-3 is defended by:

• 1 x 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun, dorsal turret (525 rpg)

Usage in battles

The Arado Ar 196 excels at destroying light ground targets, and with its twin MG FF armament it can head-on virtually any aircraft at the BR and win. Compound that with the fact that there are many inexperienced players at the BR who will head-on any target they meet, and it will be easy to accrue kills. However, the 196 loses energy very easily due to the 2 massive floats strapped to the bottom of the fuselage. The 196 usually goes out in a "blaze of glory" early on into the match, due to the playstyle revolving around killing ground targets.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful cannon armament
• Good MG for rear turret
• Can be very useful for capping points in Naval
• Good cockpit visibility
• Very good low speed handling

Cons:

• Pontoons destroyed very easily, which contain the fuel tanks
• Low ammo count for cannon
• Slow, poor energy retention
• Low bomb load

History

Arado Ar 196 taxiing at sea in 1940.

The Ar 196 was a German shipborne floatplane reconnaissance aircraft that equipped the majority of the Kriegsmarine's ships during the Second World War. Designed as a replacement to the obsolete He 60, the Ar 196 started entering service in the late 1930s to equip German capital ships such as ships of the Deutschland, Scharnhorst and Bismarck classes. The planes saw their first service in late 1939 as scouts for the pocket battleship Graf Spee, and later distinguished themselves by capturing the British submarine HMS Seal. Many Ar 196 floatplanes were captured by Allied forces, and several aircraft survive in museums to this day.

Design and development

In the early 1930s, the primary German floatplane fighter was the Heinkel He 60, an underpowered biplane design that soon became obsolete. Thus, the Air Ministry (RLM) decided to pursue the development of a new naval floatplane fighter. Heinkel submitted the He 114, a sesquiplane, while several other firms submitted similar biplanes designs. However, the Arado firm decided to create an unconventional monoplane design, which proved to have significantly better performance than its competitors. Thus, four prototypes were ordered; more conservative elements of the RLM decided to order the Focke-Wulf designed Fw 62, a more conventional biplane, but the order was cancelled when the Ar 196 proved to be well adapted for its role.

The Ar 196 was of monoplane construction, and featured a BMW engine producing just under 1,000 hp. It was flown by a crew of two - a pilot and a navigator, who doubled as the rear gunner. Armament consisted of a formidable two 20 mm MG/FF cannons and a single 7.92 mm machine gun firing forward, and a single 7.92 mm machine gun on a flexible mounting in the rear cockpit. The first pre-production Ar 196 model was delivered in late 1938, and following shakedown tests, the first production aircraft were delivered in June of 1939.

Operational History

The Ar 196 first saw battle service in late 1939, when two Ar 196s were loaded aboard the pocket battleship Graf Spee. They served as the medium range reconnaissance aircraft and were responsible for locating the majority of the Spee's victims. Another notable action took place in mid-1940, when land-based Arado 196s captured a British submarine, the HMS Seal. After the Seal struck one of its own mines during a minelaying operation, patrolling Ar 196s managed to damage the submarine by bombs and gunfire to prevent her from submerging. An Arado landed beside the submarine, whose commander decided to surrender.

Production of the Ar 196 was slow, having been shifted between multiple aircraft producers. Nevertheless, the Ar 196 served as the main catapult floatplane for Kriegsmarine capital ships until the end of the war. Production had been terminated in 1944 due to the relative obsolescence of the Ar 196 against the modern allied fighters it frequently encountered over the German coast. Several Ar 196s survived the war, including two floatplanes confiscated with the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. Two Ar 196s survive, one at a Bulgarian museum and the other in storage at the National Air and Space Museum in the United States.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Ar 196 A-3 from live.warthunder.com.

Images

• 

  Bulgarian Camouflage (S.U.M.M.E.R Reward Skin)

See also

Related development

• Ar 196 A-5 (Sweden)

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• OS2U-3
• F1M2
• Late 298D
• S17BS

External links

• [Development] Operation S.U.M.M.E.R. Ar 196 A-3

References

Citations

Bibliography

• National Air and Space Museum. (2020). Arado Ar 196 A-5. Retrieved November 23, 2020, from https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/arado-ar-196-a-5/nasm_A19610128000

Arado Aircraft Corporation (Arado Flugzeugwerke)
Bombers	Ar 196 A-3
Jet Bombers	Ar 234 B-2 · Ar 234 C-3
Export	▄Ar 196 A-5

Ship-launched reconnaissance aircraft
USA	O3U-1 · OS2U-1* · SOC-1
Germany	Ar 196 A-3*
USSR	KOR-1
Britain	Osprey Mk IV · Walrus Mk.I
Japan	E7K2 · E8N2 · E13A1 · F1M2*
Italy	Ro.43
France	GL.832HY · Loire 130С
	*Available standalone in tech tree