AR 232 Aircraft – Heavy Transport

The Arado 232s extensive glazing in the nose offered the pilots excellent visibility on approach to landing zones. This was a major advance over previous designs, although the aircraft was vulnerable to attack. A single forward-firing 13-mm (0.51-in.) machine-gun was located in the extreme nose, with 500 rounds, and above the cockpit a power-operated turret housed one 20-mm (0.79-in.) cannon.

The AR 230 model plane was designed for twin-engine layout, but demand for the Fw 190 fighter meant that there were insufficient power plants to allocate. Four lower-powered BMW-Bramo 323R-2 Fafnir engines were fitted instead. Moving from a two to a four engine layout required a larger wing span, although handling characteristics were found to be unaffected by the change.

The semi-monocoque fuselage pod was attached to a shoulder- mounted wing and the tail surfaces were carried on a single circular-section boom which projected from the upper fuselage. This design proved highly successful and allowed unrestricted loading around the rear of the air frame  The rear loading ramp could not be opened in flight to drop supplies.

The main undercarriage was of the tricycle type and was used during normal ground operations and take-offs and landings. During loading and unloading the gear retracted upwards, thereby lowering the fuselage.
The 11 pairs of idler wheels were fitted with low-pressure tires and mounted on independently-sprung suspension legs. They could cope with soft, rough terrain and ditches up to 1.5m (5 ft.) across.

A rear loading ramp offered sufficient clearance to permit direct loading onto trucks, thereby reducing the loading and unloading times. Defense at the rear was provided by a single machine-gun.

Although few Arado 232s reached operational service, their contribution to airlift operations was significant. Their missions ranged from evacuation of wounded to transporting special operations troops across Russia.