Arado Ar 231
Encyclopedia
The Arado Ar 231 was a light-weight Floatplane
, developed during World War II
in Germany
as a scout plane
for submarine
s. The need to be stored inside the submarine necessitated compromises in design that made this single-seat seaplane of little practical use.
"cruiser
s", like the Type XI B
, the Ar 231 was a light parasol-wing
aircraft. The aircraft was powered by a 119 kW (160 hp) Hirth HM 501 inline engine
, weighed around 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), and had a 10 m (33 ft) wingspan
. The design led to a simple and compact aircraft that could be fitted into a storage cylinder only 2 m (6.7 ft) in diameter. For ease of storage, the Ar 231's wings featured detachable sections that two operators could remove in less than six minutes. One unusual feature was an offset wing design, with the right wing root
attaching to the wing's tilted center section (elevated above the fuselage
, as on all parasol-wing designs) and lower than the left wing root, to allow the wings to be quickly folded
up.
gyroglider. Some of the testing was done on the auxiliary cruiser Stier
, two of the six prototype
s being taken on one voyage.
Floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane, with slender pontoons mounted under the fuselage; only the floats of a floatplane normally come into contact with water, with the fuselage remaining above water...
, developed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as a scout plane
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
for submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s. The need to be stored inside the submarine necessitated compromises in design that made this single-seat seaplane of little practical use.
Design and development
Designed from the outset for use on U-boatU-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
"cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s", like the Type XI B
Uncompleted U-boat projects
During World War II the German Navy considered a number of submarine designs for specialized operations or improving U-boat performance. However, many of these designs did not come to fruition for various reasons. Some were abandoned due to practical considerations...
, the Ar 231 was a light parasol-wing
Parasol wing
A parasol wing monoplane is an aircraft design in which the wing is not mounted directly to the fuselage, but rather, the fuselage is supported beneath it by a set of struts, called cabane struts...
aircraft. The aircraft was powered by a 119 kW (160 hp) Hirth HM 501 inline engine
Inline engine (aviation)
In aviation, an inline engine means any reciprocating engine with banks rather than rows of cylinders, including straight engines, flat engines, V engines and H engines, but excluding radial engines and rotary engines....
, weighed around 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), and had a 10 m (33 ft) wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
. The design led to a simple and compact aircraft that could be fitted into a storage cylinder only 2 m (6.7 ft) in diameter. For ease of storage, the Ar 231's wings featured detachable sections that two operators could remove in less than six minutes. One unusual feature was an offset wing design, with the right wing root
Wing root
The wing root is the part of the wing on a fixed-wing aircraft that is closest to the fuselage. On a simple monoplane configuration, this is usually easy to identify...
attaching to the wing's tilted center section (elevated above the fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
, as on all parasol-wing designs) and lower than the left wing root, to allow the wings to be quickly folded
Folding wing
A folding wing is a design feature of aircraft to save space in the airfield, and time, and is typical of naval aircraft that operate from the limited deck space of aircraft carriers. The folding allows the aircraft to occupy less space in a confined hangar because the folded wing normally rises...
up.
Operational history
Testing soon revealed the Ar 231s to be fragile, underpowered, and difficult to fly even during calm weather, and as a result, development ended in favour of the Focke Achgelis Fa 330Focke Achgelis Fa 330
The Focke-Achgelis FA 330 Bachstelze was a type of rotary-wing kite, known as a gyroglider or rotor kite. They were towed behind German U-boats during World War II to allow a lookout to see farther.- Development :...
gyroglider. Some of the testing was done on the auxiliary cruiser Stier
German auxiliary cruiser Stier
The German auxiliary cruiser Stier was a German auxiliary cruiser during World War II. Her Kriegsmarine designation was Schiff 23, to the Royal Navy she was Raider J....
, two of the six prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
s being taken on one voyage.