Thursday, 6 February 2020

Arado Ar.234 - Foreign users

The Arado Ar.234 Blitz (Lightning in German) was the world's first operational jet-powered bomber. It was built by the German company Arado in the closing stages of World War 2.
As it was a very advanced piece of technology, many exemplars were captured by many nations.

  • United Kingdom: The United Kingdom managed to get some Ar.234 which were used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment. The second one depicted below was captured by British troops at Grove airfield, in Denmark, while the first one was tested in Sola, Norway on September 1945.
  • France: It seems that the French Army managed to get at least two Arado Ar.234 and used for testing purposes after the war. However, as the sources are rather scarce, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
  • United States: Both United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and United States Navy (USN) got some Ar.234. One of them was the one the British managed to test which, when tests were finished, it was handed over to the USAAF. A total of three machines were collected by the 'Watson's Whizzers' unit (a special unit tasked with testing the new German jet aircraft) and were shipped to the USA for flight testing.
    They were shipped aboard the HMS Reaper (D82) escort carrier and arrived in the USA in July 1945. Upon arrival, they were flown by USAAF pilots to Freeman Army airfield, in Indiana for testing and evaluation. One was assigned to the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, in Maryland where it was intended to be tested by the USN, but it was found that the aircraft was unflyable and was scrapped.
    The ones tested at Freeman's field, received new engines, radio and oxygen equipment and were transferred to Wright field, in Dayton, Ohio, for further flight tests which took place from 1946 until 1947, when they were put into storage. Later, in 1949 the aircraft were transferred to the Smithsonian institution where they were stored until 1989.









Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_234
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Lusty#Watson's_"Whizzers"
3. https://captured-wings.wikia.org/wiki/Category:Arado_Ar_234
4. AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 32 - Arado 234 ''Blitz'' (translated)

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