Ar 234 C-3

This page is about the German jet bomber Ar 234 C-3. For the other version, see Ar 234 B-2.

Ar 234 C-3

Ar 234 B-2

◊IL-28

Ar 234 C-3

Ar 234 B-2

◊IL-28

Germany

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	7.3	7.3

Class:

Bomber

Jet bomber

Research:48 000

Purchase:270 000

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Description

The Ar 234 C-3 is a rank V German jet bomber with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB) and 7.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory".

General info

Flight performance

Drogue parachute

Reduces braking distance when landing on any runway

Max speed

at 0 m857 km/h

Turn time29 s

Max altitude13 000 m

Engine4 х BMW 003

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight11 t

The Ar 234 C-3 is all you need as a jet bomber. Acceleration is decent and maximum speed at 500 m is 850 km/h when stock. When upgraded, acceleration is great, energy retention is nice and can reach up to 900 km/h IAS at 1,000 m.

Climb rate is great even when stock. Combining the +3,500 m first spawn altitude and nice climb rate, the Arado Ar 234 C-3 is a great choice for bomber players. The dive speed is incredible and together with perfect energy retention, you can reach very high speeds in a matter of seconds. There is no WEP, however, but that's not very important.

How to land?

Landing is not hard, but a is little dangerous. You can land after a dive, as well as when slow. Landing at low speeds is really easy, but here are the steps when landing after a dive:

1. Decrease throttle to 0%, go up at 90° and lose speed.
2. After falling down, open combat flaps, then take-off flaps. Throttle must be about 30%.
3. Open landing gear and landing flaps to lose more speed, landing with negative or 0 degrees is recommended (see the notes for why). Landing gear will extend really fast.
4. You can land at about 300 km/h as well as lower speeds, so don't worry about it.
5. Use brakes and the recoil of your two 20 mm cannons to complete your landing!

Some notes:

• Do not power the engines off. You may need to throttle up and get more stability.
• Do not perform hard manoeuvres; you're at high speed after a dive so the pilot can lose its control and may lead to a crash.
• Flaps are really important for landing, so if you don't have them or they're damaged, decrease speed as much as possible.
• The mono-landing gear under cockpit placement is strong enough to sustain hard landing.
• Why 0 or negative degree when landing? There's no landing gear at the back. So approaching at a positive degree may cause the tail to touch the ground and cause a lot of damage.
• Don't worry about the absence of air brakes, as your brakes work well. Do manoeuvres at low engine power in order to lose speed.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	847	840	13000	30.2	31.0	23.9	22.4	700
Upgraded	866	857		28.1	29.0	33.6	28.5

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	X	X	X

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1000	400	527	498	350	~8	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 500	< 500	< 650	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Empty mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
BMW 003		4	6,700 kg		369 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		12m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	40m fuel
673 kg	Axial-flow turbojet		7,720 kg	8,340 kg	9,115 kg	9,890 kg	11,100 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%)
Condition	100%	WEP	12m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	40m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	801 kgf	N/A	0.42	0.38	0.35	0.32	0.29
Optimal	801 kgf (0 km/h)	N/A	0.42	0.38	0.35	0.32	0.29

Survivability and armour

Crew1 person

Speed of destruction

Structural1 000 km/h

Gear400 km/h

• No armour
• Fuel tanks in the fuselage

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 287 → 4 144

RB11 858 → 14 952

SB16 673 → 21 024

Total cost of modifications80 000

130 800

Talisman cost2 000

Crew training78 000

Experts270 000

Aces1 500

Research Aces670 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

90 / 310 / 600 %

190 / 190 / 190 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Research: 5 300 Cost: 8 600 200 Compressor Research: 5 300 Cost: 8 600 200 Airframe Research: 9 000 Cost: 15 000 350 Wings repair Research: 6 700 Cost: 11 000 260 Engine Research: 6 700 Cost: 11 000 260 Cover Research: 13 000 Cost: 21 000 500		SC 500 Research: 5 300 Cost: 8 600 200 mg15120_belt_pack Research: 9 000 Cost: 15 000 350 SC 1000 Research: 6 700 Cost: 11 000 260 mg15120_new_gun Research: 13 000 Cost: 21 000 500

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Ar 234 C-3 is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, chin-mounted (250 rpg = 500 total)

Suspended armament

The Ar 234 C-3 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 3 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (750 kg total)
• 3 x 500 kg SC500K bombs (1,500 kg total)
• 1 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bomb (1,000 kg total)
• 1 x 1,000 kg SC1000L2 bomb + 2 x 250 kg SC250JA bombs (1,500 kg total)

Usage in battles

The standard bombs on the Ar 234 C-3 are 3 x 250 kg bombs and 3 x 500 kg bombs. You will have access to them even if your Arado is stock. Additionally, this variant of the Arado possesses 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, so one of the best ways to use your Arado to ensure you can farm RP and SL for your modifications is:

1- Equip the 3 x 500 kg bombs and start the match at the air spawn point.

2- On maps such as Berlin, move to one of the enemy bases and drop your 3 x 500 kg bombs. 1.5 tonnes worth of bombs are enough to destroy a base, so from there you have two options to choose from:

2.1 - Go back to the airfield and get new bombs
If you choose to go back to the airfield to get new bombs, be aware that unfortunately, the Arado does not have any air brakes, which is a problem as it has particularly good energy retention and some pilots may find it hard to safely land.

When landing the Arado, decrease speed by turning before you reach the airfield (aim to be at 400 km/h or less) then align with the landing strip, activate your flaps and proceed with the landing. If using the landing gear, ensure that you are at extremely low speed before landing or that the landing strip is long enough to stop on. The Arado has extremely good energy retention and is very heavy, so it does take a long time to stop. You can land without gear, which, while obviously dangerous, offers a much better chance to stop in time on shorter landing strips. To do this, land flat on the belly and avoid allowing the wings to touch the ground before you stop moving.

2.2 - Search for enemy targets
Once you have dropped your bombs, you can turn your sights to enemy aircraft; the Arado C-3 is quite capable as a fighter, especially in comparison to other German BR 7.0 jets. It doesn't suffer from the same issues as the Me 262, which lacks in power and once it loses energy, often struggles to regain it, or the Ho 229, which can rip its wings very easily in high-G manoeuvres. With the Arado, you won't encounter these kinds of problems, providing you don't attempt to turn fight. The Arado C-3 has the best climb rate of any BR 7.0 German jet. It also possesses a roll rate to rival the Me 262, so with your 4 powerful engines, you have everything you need to take on other jets. As such, once you've finished your bombing run, turn and climb towards the battlefield, and try to maintain altitude above other jets. Once you're reasonably high, pick vulnerable targets and dive in for a pass, taking a shot at them and then moving away to retain your energy. Avoid exceeding 750 km/h when stock, as the dive can become increasingly hard to slow. Once all modifications have been researched, however, the aircraft provides a reasonable amount of additional leeway before it encounters issues. If everything falls apart and you find yourself with fighters on your tail, try to keep accelerating if possible and try to lure the enemies toward your own teammates so that they can assist you.

Baiting:

The Ar 234 C-3 is a great jet bomber. With its 3,500 m spawn altitude, nice acceleration, energy retention and dive speed, you can easily become bait and set up enemies to be downed by your allies. To do so, climb to 4,000 m, en route to the enemy location, drop your bombs to lighten your load. Once in the vicinity of the enemy start to dive on them. The goal is to keep the enemy aircraft busy chasing you, however, if you happen to get behind one, don't be shy about introducing them to your cannons.

You can use cockpit periscope to check the type of enemy planes from a very high distance.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Incredibly fast with good acceleration
• Stock payload is very versatile
• Can destroy up to 3 medium tank/4 armoured vehicles/1 pillbox + a strategic base with 2 x 250 kg and 1000 kg
• Very good at destroying individual ground units in AB
• 2 x MG 151 20 mm cannons provide decent air to air performance with Air target belts as cannons take a while to jam and have a good rate of fire
• Very good climb rate
• Gear can handle speeds up to 400km/h
• Durable flaps that can be used at speeds lower than 550 km/h, even in the landing flap configuration
• Four engines provides the much-needed speed increase from the previous model
• Air spawn at 3,500 meters
• Very good energy retention
• Has periscope gunsight at top-right of the cockpit, aids in more effective targeting
• Periscope gunsight helps you identify enemy aircraft types sooner
• Small target compared to American (B-57s) and British (Canberra) competitors.

Cons:

• While stock, is hard to recover from dives in speeds beyond 750 km/h
• Pilot can be easily knocked out
• Can't carry many bombs, which means that you only can destroy 1 enemy base per bomb load
• Doesn't have air brakes, which when combined with the plane's very good energy retention can make landing potentially very dangerous
• No gunsight in the non-scoped cockpit, you have to rely on perception to aim
• Stock build aircraft handling feels heavy at high altitudes
• Worse turn rate than the previous model

History

The Arado Ar 234 Blitz (English: lightning) was the world's first operational jet-powered bomber, built by the German Arado company in the closing stages of World War II. Produced in limited numbers it was used almost entirely in the reconnaissance role.

Christmas Eve, 1944, American forces were dug in around Liege in Belgium and prepared for just about anything. Eight days earlier, four German armies had launched a surprise attack from the Ardennes Forest, using one of the coldest and snowiest winters in European history as cover from Allied air superiority.

The Nazis smashed through stretched-thin defensive positions and were pushing towards the port of Antwerp to cut off Allied supply lines in what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge.

With Lightning Speed and Agility, Germany’s Ar 234 Blitz Jet Bomber Was a Success That Ultimately Failed

Only one is known to survive today and it is in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

By David Kindy

SMITHSONIANMAG.COM

DECEMBER 18, 2020

[null 332195]

On Christmas Eve, 1944, American forces were dug in around Liege in Belgium and prepared for just about anything. Eight days earlier, four German armies had launched a surprise attack from the Ardennes Forest, using one of the coldest and snowiest winters in European history as cover from Allied air superiority.

The Nazis smashed through stretched-thin defensive positions and were pushing towards the port of Antwerp to cut off Allied supply lines in what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge.

With savage fighting on many fronts, American troops at Liege were on high alert in case the Germans tried something there—though they didn’t expect what happened next. With the weather clearing, aircraft from both sides were flying once again. High above the Belgian city came the sound of approaching planes. The engine rumble from these aircraft was not typical, though.

Rather than the reverberating growl of piston-driven engines, these aircraft emitted a smooth piercing roar. They were jets, but not Messerschmitt Me 262s, history’s first jet fighter. These were Arado Ar 234 B-2s, the first operational jet bomber to see combat. Nine of them were approaching a factory complex at Liege, each laden with a 1,100-pound bomb.

Luftwaffe Captain Diether Lukesch of Kampfgeschwader (Bomber Wing) 76 led the small squadron on the historic bombing run. Powered by two Jumo 004 B4-1 turbojet engines, the sleek planes zoomed in to drop their payloads and then quickly soared away. They were so fast that Allied fighters could not catch them.

Often overshadowed by more famous jets in World War II, the Ar 234 B-2—known as the Blitz, or Lightning—had caught the Allies by surprise when the nine soared through the skies on December 24, 1944.

History’s first operational jet bomber was designed and built by the Arado company. The plane originally began service as a scout aircraft. One had flown reconnaissance over Normandy snapping photos of supply depots and troop movements just four months earlier. But reconfigured as a bomber and operated by one pilot, who also served as bombardier, the Blitz was fast and agile. It easily eluded most Allied aircraft with its top speed of 456 miles per hour. The Germans also created two other versions of the aircraft—a night fighter and a four-engine heavy bomber—neither made it into full production.

With Lightning Speed and Agility, Germany’s Ar 234 Blitz Jet Bomber Was a Success That Ultimately Failed

Only one is known to survive today and it is in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum

By David Kindy

SMITHSONIANMAG.COM

DECEMBER 18, 2020

[null 332195]

On Christmas Eve, 1944, American forces were dug in around Liege in Belgium and prepared for just about anything. Eight days earlier, four German armies had launched a surprise attack from the Ardennes Forest, using one of the coldest and snowiest winters in European history as cover from Allied air superiority.

The Nazis smashed through stretched-thin defensive positions and were pushing towards the port of Antwerp to cut off Allied supply lines in what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge.

With savage fighting on many fronts, American troops at Liege were on high alert in case the Germans tried something there—though they didn’t expect what happened next. With the weather clearing, aircraft from both sides were flying once again. High above the Belgian city came the sound of approaching planes. The engine rumble from these aircraft was not typical, though.

Rather than the reverberating growl of piston-driven engines, these aircraft emitted a smooth piercing roar. They were jets, but not Messerschmitt Me 262s, history’s first jet fighter. These were Arado Ar 234 B-2s, the first operational jet bomber to see combat. Nine of them were approaching a factory complex at Liege, each laden with a 1,100-pound bomb.

Media

Videos

Arado 234 C-3: Bullying Fighters - Napalmratte

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• Official data sheet - more details about the performance

Arado Aircraft Corporation (Arado Flugzeugwerke)
Bombers	Ar 196 A-3
Jet Bombers	Ar 234 B-2 · Ar 234 C-3
Export	▄Ar 196 A-5