Arado Ar 234 Bomber and Reconnaissance Units

Author: Robert Forsyth
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472844408
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

Book Description
When the revolutionary twin jet-powered Arado Ar 234 first appeared in the skies over north-west Europe in the summer of 1944, it represented the state-of-the-art in terms of aeronautical and technical development. The Ar 234 was a formidable aircraft – powered by Jumo 004Bs, the same engine used by the Me 262, and with a maximum speed of 735 km/h and range of 1600 km/h, it was very difficult for the Allies to 'catch'. Here was a machine that with its superior speed could operate with impunity as both a bomber and in the reconnaissancerole. As such, the aircraft became the world's first reconnaissance jet, undertaking secret, high-speed, high-altitude observation missions for the German High Command over the Allied beachheads in Normandy and other Allied strongholds. Astonishingly, in September 1944 and as late as 1945, lone Ar 234s conducted reconnaissance flights over British ports and theMediterranean. The aircraft was equally efficient as a jet bomber – although the Ar 234B-2 bomber variant carried no defensive gun armament, it was able to deliver 1000 kg of bombs at high-speed and at either low- or high-level with considerable and devastating accuracy. This highly detailed title from renowned aviation historian Robert Forsyth explores the history of this incredible aircraft, from its development in the early 1940s to its deployment in both reconnaissance and bomber roles throughout the rest of the war. The masterful text is supported by stunning, specially commissioned artwork.

Arado Flugzeugwerke

Author: Volker Koos
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Book Description
Founded in Warnemünde in 1925, Arado Flugzeugwerke developed civilian and military prototypes for the clandestine armament programme of the Reichswehr. From 1933 when licensed production of military aircraft commenced, the factory also built a number of their own designs. Best known are the training planes Ar 66 and Ar 96, the catapult floatplane Ar 196, and the record-breaking sport aircraft Ar 79. With the two- or four-engine Ar 234, the world’s first operational jet bomber was built. At the end of the war, Arado initiated the project of the first supersonic experimental aircraft. Arado Flugzeugwerke: Aircraft and Development charts the development of all Arado aircraft between 1925 and 1945, as well as the development and capabilities of the factory. It also gives an overview of the licensed-productions and other projects. The information in this book is based on original documentation, unpublished photographs and will rectify some of the speculation and fantasy that has been published about Arado Flugzeugwerke.

Fighting Hitler's Jets

Author: Robert F. Dorr
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
ISBN: 1610588479
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
Fighting Hitler's Jets brings together in a single, character-driven narrative two groups of men at war: on one side, American fighter pilots and others who battled the secret “wonder weapons” with which Adolf Hitler hoped to turn the tide; on the other, the German scientists, engineers, and pilots who created and used these machines of war on the cutting edge of technology. Written by Robert F. Dorr, renowned author of Zenith Press titles Hell Hawks!, Mission to Berlin, and Mission to Tokyo, the story begins with a display of high-tech secret weapons arranged for Hitler at a time when Germany still had prospects of winning the war. It concludes with Berlin in rubble and the Allies seeking German technology in order to jumpstart their own jet-powered aviation programs. Along the way, Dorr expertly describes the battles in the sky over the Third Reich that made it possible for the Allies to mount the D-Day invasion and advance toward Berlin. Finally, the book addresses both facts and speculation about German weaponry and leaders, including conspiracy theorists’ view that Hitler escaped in a secret aircraft at the war’s end. Where history and controversy collide with riveting narrative, Fighting Hitler’s Jets furthers a repertoire that comprises some of the United States’ most exceptional military writing.

The Jet Race and the Second World War

Author: S. Mike Pavelec
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1573567191
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Book Description
In the 1930s, as nations braced for war, the German military build up caught Britain and the United States off-guard, particularly in aviation technology. The unending quest for speed resulted in the need for radical alternatives to piston engines. In Germany, Dr. Hans von Ohain was the first to complete a flight-worthy turbojet engine for aircraft. It was installed in a Heinkel-designed aircraft, and the Germans began the jet age on August 27, 1939. The Germans led the jet race throughout the war and were the first to produce jet aircraft for combat operations. In England, the doggedly determined Frank Whittle also developed a turbojet engine, but without the support enjoyed by his German counterpart. The British came second in the jet race when Whittle's engine powered the Gloster Pioneer on May 15, 1941. The Whittle-Gloster relationship continued and produced the only Allied combat jet aircraft during the war, the Meteor, which was relegated to Home Defense in Britain. In America, General Electric copied the Whittle designs, and Bell Aircraft contracted to build the first American jet plane. On October 1, 1942, a lackluster performance from the Bell Airacomet, ushered in the American jet age. The Yanks forged ahead, and had numerous engine and airframe programs in development by the end of the war. But, the Germans did it right and did it first, while the Allies lagged throughout the war, only rising to technological prominence on the ashes of the German defeat. Pavelec's analysis of the jet race uncovers all the excitement in the high-stakes race to develop effective jet engines for warfare and transport.

The Me 262 Stormbird

Author: Colin Heaton
Publisher: Zenith Press
ISBN: 1610584341
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
The Me 262 was the first of its kind, the first jet-powered aircraft. Although conceived before the war, with the initial plans being drawn in April 1939, the Stormbird was beset with technological (particularly the revolutionary engines) and political difficulties, resulting in it not entering combat until August 1944, with claims of nineteen downed Allied aircraft. The performance of the Me 262 so far exceeded that of Allied aircraft that on 1 Sepember 1944, USAAF General Carl Spaatz remarked that if greater numbers of German jets appeared, they could inflict losses heavy enough to force cancellation of the Allied daylight bombing offensive. The story of how the Stormbird came to be is fascinating history, and it comes to life in the hands of noted historian Colin Heaton. Told largely in the words of the German aces who flew it, The Me 262 Stormbird provides the complete history of this remarkable airplane from the drawing boards to combat in the skies over the Third Reich. Features two forewords, one by Jorg Czypionka, Me 262 night fighter pilot, and another by historian and author Barrett Tillman.

German Jets of World War II

Author: Dominique Breffort
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 9782352502241
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Germany was not only the first country to get a jet aircraft to fly but above all it was the only country fighting in World War Two to mass produce and above all engage several types of aircraft using this new kind of power plant in the fighting, thus opening the way for air warfare as we know it nowadays. This new volume in the collection "Planes and Pilots", which wittingly ignores the myriad of jet aircraft projects which the Germans thought up all during the war most of which never got beyond the drawing board, only deals with the machines which were built in enough numbers to be used operationally. The Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-fighter, more dangerous for its pilots than for its opponents; the twin-engined Arado 234, better at reconnaissance than at bombing which was its intended role; the Heinkel He 162, the People's Fighter, built in record time but arriving too late to prove the effectiveness of its design; and above all the Messerschmitt Me 262 - the real star among the German fighters during the last year of the war and whose tally of kills gives a glimpse of the real impact on the course of the war it might have had, had its development not been so considerably delayed by innumerable technical problems and, for a while, by crass strategic errors.

Allied Jet Killers of World War 2

Author: Stephen Chapis
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472823532
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

Book Description
Allied fighter pilots began encountering German jets – principally the outstanding Me 262 fighter – from the autumn of 1944. Stunned by the aircraft's speed and rate of climb, it took USAAF and RAF units time to work out how to combat this deadly threat as the Luftwaffe targeted the medium and heavy bombers attacking targets across the Reich. A number of high-scoring aces from the Eighth Air Force (Drew, Glover, Meyer, Norley and Yeager, to name but a few) succeeded in claiming Me 262s, Me 163 and Ar 234s during the final months of the campaign, as did RAF aces like Tony Gaze and 'Foob' Fairbanks. The exploits of both famous and little-known pilots will be chronicled in this volume, detailing how they pushed their P-47s, P-51s, Spitfires and Tempests to the limits of their performance in order to down the Luftwaffe's 'wonder weapons'.

The World's First Jet Bombers

Author: Franz Kober
Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited
ISBN: 9780887402036
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 47

Book Description
Used in combat in WWII, the Ar 234 was a major development in aircraft design.

The Warplanes of the Third Reich

Author: William Green
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780883656662
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 672

Book Description
Here is the definitive work on the military aircraft that evolved during the life of German's Third Reich, composed of an authoritative text that spanned two decades of research. Over 2000 black-and-white illustrations, diagrams and photographs, plus two full-color gatefolds identifying the markings and camouflage on over 70 different aircraft.

Wings of the Luftwaffe

Author: Eric Brown
Publisher: Crowood Press (UK)
ISBN: 9781853104138
Category : Air warfare
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
At the end of World War II, Eric Brown had the extraordinary experience of testing no fewer than 55 captured individual German aircraft types. These ranged from such exotic creations as the prone-pilot Berlin B9 and Horten IV, the push-and-pull Dornier DO335 and the remarkable little Heinkel He 162 Volksjager, to the highly innovative combat types that were entering the inventory of the Luftwaffe shortly before the demise of Germany's Third Reich. Brown also interrogated many of the leading German wartime aviation personalities, such as Willy Messerschmitt, Ernst Heinkel, Kurt Tank and Hanna Reitsch. From this background knowledge of German aviation he has selected those he considers the most important, and presents detailed descriptions of their background and characteristics.