Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[LuseKofte]

It is one of the coolest transports I know of :

The Arado Ar 232 Tausendfussler was a special beast. World War 2 was a time of rapid advances and development in technology. These technological advances, especially in the areas of weaponry, played a crucial role in determining the outcome of the war.

One example of this technological advance was in the area of aircraft development and one particular aircraft that was proof to this was the Arado Ar 232 Tausendfussler. This WW2 aircraft, nicknamed “Millipede” because of its multiple sets of wheels which were utilized in the undercarriage, was considered as the first truly modern airplane because its design introduced the features that the standards of today’s transport aircrafts.



The Arado Ar 232 was utilized in the war by the Reichs-Luftfahrts-Ministerium (RLM) or the Reich Air Ministry. This WW2 German aircraft was firs flown in 1941 and was further developed into two model series known as the “A” and “B” models based on the number of powerplants that were utilized. The two models however had millipede-like landing gear assembly, had the same cargo fuselage system (the low-mounted type) and were powered by four engines. The initial design specification of the RLM was to have the “Millipede” run only by twin engines. The replacement of this specification into a four-engine designed made both the Arado Ar 232A and Arado Ar 232B into high performance WW2 aircrafts.

The Arado Ar 232 series were powered by four (4) 1200-HP Bramo piston engines having two engines mounted on each wing. The low-mounting cargo fuselage design was advantageous to the Ar 232 because it can hold up to 46,000 pounds in weight.

The Arado Ar 232’s armaments were limited only to defense since their main function was of transport alone. The armaments of this WW2 German aircraft included the following: one (1) 13 mm machine gun which was mounted on its nose, one (1) 20 mm cannon which was mounted on the dorsal portion of the plane, and one (1) to two (2) 13 mm machine guns which can be mounted in the rear portion. A four-man crew can be accommodated in both Ar 232 models. Additional 8 MG machine guns were also mounted during infantry transports.

The Arado Ar 232’s were used mainly by the Reich Air Ministry from 1943 and serve the Germans until they were retired in 1945. Only about 20 units were produced during the war.

SPECIFICATIONS

Allied Codename:   Millipede
Type:   four-man crew transport aircraft
Design:   Arado Aircraft Firm
Engine(s):   4 x 1200-HP Bramo 232-R Fafnir 9-cylinder radial-type piston engines
Max Speed:   340 km/h (211 mph; 184 knots)
Max Range:   1,335 kilometers or 830 nautical miles
Ceiling:   22,638 feet or 6,900 meters
Length:   77.17 feet
Wingspan:   47 feet 3 inches
Height:   109.91 feet
Empty Weight:   12,780 kg
MTO Weight:   21,160 kg

ref: http://www.world-war-2-planes.com/arado-ar-232.html

The Ar 232 design led from a tender offered by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (German Air Ministry, RLM) in late 1939 for a replacement for the Ju 52 transport. Both Arado and Henschel were asked for rear-loading designs powered by two of the 1,193 kW (1,600 hp) BMW 801A/B radial engine, which was just entering prototype production and not currently used on any front-line designs. The Arado design beat out Henschel's after an examination of the plans, and an order for three prototypes was placed in 1940.
Wilhelm van Nes led the design of the Ar 232. He began at the cargo area, with a bay directly behind the cockpit that extended 6.6 m (21 ft 7.75 in) to the rear, 2.3 m (7 ft 6.5 in) wide and 2.0 m (6 ft 6.75 in) high. Typical designs of the era would use a side-mounted door for access, but the Ar 232 used hydraulically powered clamshell-doors on the rear of the bay with a ramp to allow cargo to be rolled into the hold. The tail control surfaces were mounted on the end of a long boom to keep the area behind the doors clear so trucks could drive right up to the ramp. This allowed the Ar 232 to be loaded and unloaded faster than other designs.

Arado Ar 232.
Arado Ar 232.
[Source: Unknown]
For short-field performance, the Ar 232 incorporated Arado's own "travelling flap" design for the entire rear surface of the wing. Even loaded to 16,000 kg (35,270 lb), the plane could take-off in 200 m (656 ft). This distance could be further reduced by using rocket assist (RATO) for take-off, and either parachutes or reverse RATO for landing.

The most noticeable feature of the Ar 232 was the landing gear. Normal operations from prepared runways used tricycle gear, but the struts could "break", or kneel, after landing to place the fuselage closer to the ground and thereby reduce the ramp angle. An additional set of 11 smaller wheels per side supported the aircraft once "broken", or could be used for additional support when landing on soft or rough airfields. The aircraft was intended to be capable of taxiing at low speeds on its small wheels, thus being able to negotiate small obstacles such as ditches up to 1.5 m (5 ft) in width. The appearance of the row of small wheels led to the nickname "millipede". In flight, the main legs fully retracted into the engine nacelles, while the support wheels remained extended and the nose wheel only semi-retracted.

Normally operated by a crew of four, the pilot was the only member without two jobs. The navigator operated a 13 mm MG 131 machine gun in the nose, the radio operator a 20 mm MG 151 cannon in a rotating turret on the roof, and the loadmaster a 13 mm MG 131 machine gun firing rearward from the extreme rear of the cargo bay above the cargo doors.

Even before the prototypes were complete in 1941, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 project had moved to the BMW 801A/B, and was proving to be a capable design. Production of the BMW 801 was insufficient to supply this new demand, and the Ar 232 was forced to use another engine. Eventually, the BMW Bramo 323 from the Junkers Ju 352 was selected instead, as it was already in production and could meet requirements if the Ar 232 really did replace the Ju 52/3m in service. The prototypes were far enough along that switching engines would have seriously delayed the program, so the first two were to be completed as the Ar 232A, and the third and a newly ordered fourth as the Ar 232B. The prototypes (and all production aircraft) used four engines (in place of the two specified in the RLM specification) in order to provide the desired performance.

The first two prototypes, GH+GN and VD+YA, started trials in early 1941. The first flight resulted in the collapse of the nose gear, but the millipede wheels saved the plane from damage. A further ten pre-production machines were built, and were used operationally as the Ar 232A-0 while awaiting production versions. In general, the Ar 232 completely outperformed the Ju 52/3m. It carried roughly double the load over longer distances, operated from shorter runways and rougher fields if need be, and cruised about 70 kph (44 mph) faster.

The Ar 232B program ran at the same time. With four 895 kW (1,200 hp) Bramo 323, the plane increased in power from 2,386 kW (3,200 hp) to 3,580 kW (4,800 hp), solving the A model's problem of having little excess power in case of engine failure. This change also required the wing to be extended slightly, the span rising just over 3 m (9 ft 10 in) in total. The extra weight of the engines also moved the center of gravity forward, which was offset by extending the cargo area rearward another meter.

Arado Ar 232B.
Arado Ar 232B.
Two prototypes were ordered, the V3 and V4, and V3 first flew in May 1942. A further 10 were then ordered as the Ar 232B-0, and were used widely in an operational role. However, this was the only order for the design, as the Luftwaffe gave transport aircraft production a very low priority. Many of those produced were used by Arado to transport aircraft parts among their factories, and did not see front-line service.

Plans were also made to replace the outer wing sections and control surfaces with wooden versions to conserve then-limited supplies of aluminium. Originally to be known as the Ar 232C, the design dragged on and was later re-named the Ar 432. Plans were finally put into place to start production in October 1945, but the war ended without even a prototype being produced. Two even larger planned versions, the Ar 532 and the Ar 632, would have almost doubled the wingspan to 60 m (196 ft 10 in) and added another two engines.

Two of the B-0s were captured by the British at the end of the war. After test flights by Eric "Winkle" Brown, who gave the design excellent marks, they were used by the Royal Air Force on flights between England and Germany after the war.

Sources:
Gunston, Bill & Wood, Tony - Hitler's Luftwaffe, 1977, Salamander Books Ltd., London
Wikipedia - Arado Ar 232

[OberstDanjeje]

Nice request, I like this very strange bird.
Hope to see it in IL2 too

[LuseKofte]

Yes but we need new scripting too, so it would make sense flying transports, like resupplying airbases and ground units. I just love to fly big funny looking birds

[Phas3e]

Wow that would be cool idea for online missions, land and despawn a transport and resupply the base with fuel and ammo.

[SAS~Malone]

super request, mate!
i hope someone gives it a go some day, it will fit very nicely into the IL-2 universe.

[foxhound]

+1 i want soo badly drop that out from skies

[LuseKofte]

Wow that would be cool idea for online missions, land and despawn a transport and resupply the base with fuel and ammo.

This is probably what saves BOS in my eyes, they got Heinkels that do that stuff online, but currently you die every time since the fighters are too busy aining personal credit to bother with escort. And you are a sitting duck on landing pattern.
In that regard BOS is very good, it get a realistic handling fm during landings

[Gaston]

That is a plane that was quite ahead of its time, I think... nice request, by the way !

[dsawan]

agreed! would be good to have and use during battle of bulge to resupply German offensive in the what-if scneario. would be good to mwith the retextured stalingrad scnenery just released.

[slejsa]

Wow, flying centipede It would be a nice addition!