Ar 234 B-2

Ar 234 B-2

He 177 A-5

Ar 234 C-3

Ar 234 B-2

He 177 A-5

Ar 234 C-3

Germany

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.3	6.3	6.7

Class:

Bomber

Jet bomber

Research:82 000

Purchase:240 000

Show in game

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

Description

The Ar 234 B-2 is a rank V German jet bomber with a battle rating of 6.3 (AB/RB) and 6.7 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
710	688	11000	29.4	30.0	24.6	23.8	700
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 6,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
???	???	11000	??.?	??.?	??.?	??.?	700

Details

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

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		550	~7	~3

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 500	< 500	< 550	N/A

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
0 m	910 kgf	N/A

Survivability and armour

• 15 mm steel - pilot's headrest

Armaments

Suspended armament

The Ar 234 B-2 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

Arcade:

Due to the limited payload of only 3 x 500 kg bombs, this plane is most effective as a fast tactical bomber. It is very effective against any ground unit in-game, reliably taking out heavy tanks, pillboxes and destroyers. This can be done with a fast in-and-out approach, diving to do high speed, low-alt run over the ground targets then running to safety and then climbing while bombs reload to be able to repeat. If an enemy fighter does manage to catch up to engage the Arado, then you must resort to using the 234's excellent manoeuvrability to evade enemy fire until you can reach safety or help arrives. For ground attack, the 3 x 500 kg payload is the best option, as each is capable of destroying any individual ground target.

Some would advocate side-climbing and then high-alt base bombing. This may help ensure survivability, but in Arcade mode, the total bombload is too small to be very effective. While destroying the mini-bases may be useful, attacks on the airfield would be insignificant. In base-bombing roles, you may find that the upgraded bombload is worthwhile, as it has slightly less drag and slightly higher total TNT content within its bombs.

Realistic:

Fast tactical bomber. Go in, destroy the target, either two tanks/pillboxes, or one strategic bomb-zone target. At this point the pilot has several options:

1. Run back to base to rearm. Inform your allies about any foes you might have seen. On the second run, the Arado can either continue hitting ground targets/bases or loiter near the enemy airfield to bomb landed planes...though with many pilots being able to rearm in 15 seconds (even in RB) this can be difficult to achieve. Be sure not to be spotted!
2. Mimic history and be a reconnaissance (and bait) plane. The Arado's top speed in combination with its manoeuvrability allows for great dodging ability. Used against the enemy team, they might chase the Arado and lose precious energy, making them easy targets for your allies. In addition, their location is revealed and shown to the team, too.
3. Be "honourable" and utilize the only offensive weapon the Arado has: Itself. While ramming is a viable form of fighting for Arado pilots, other players ("targets") may be rather annoyed by it (the community term "Ruse Cruise Missile" originates from this).

Regular medium bomber tactics apply. Stay stealthy, stay fast and watch out during the landing approach.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Auto control available	Not controllable Auto control available	Combined	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Compressor
II			Airframe	ETC 1001 I
III	Wings repair	Engine
IV			Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fast and very manoeuvrable
• Good energy retention + good dive speed = easy escape after the bombing
• Overheating is not an issue at all, even when stock
• The stock payload is all you need
• Gets air spawned in realistic battles
• Very good aircraft to grind
• Can escape from most propeller planes after the payload has been dropped
• Small target
• Often gets matched in propeller-plane matches
• Very efficient in taking out individual targets in ground strike maps (AB), with maxed reload time can drop a salvo roughly every 40 seconds

Cons:

• Some engine piston planes can catch the Arado during a dive
• Poor high-altitude acceleration
• No WEP in realistic battles
• Can only carry three bombs and release them in two separate loads
• No offensive armament
• No armour
• The pilot is easily knocked out due to the absence of armour on the front of the plane

History

In late 1940, an order for a turbojet-powered reconnaissance aircraft was issued by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (the German Air Ministry). The winning design was the Arado Ar 234, a high-wing, incredibly fast jet bomber/reconnaissance aircraft with twin Jumo 004 engines. Since Germany's resources were running low the prototype was only able to fly in 1943 and was only able to fly combat missions after D-Day. Even after these setbacks, it was still the world's first operational jet bomber and reconnaissance aircraft.

The prototype used a wooden tricycle trolley for take-offs and a singular skid for landing. Also, since the plane was so fast the only times it would be vulnerable was during takeoff and landing. The design soon moved to conventional landing gear after to trolleys were quite risky and during landings when the plane would tilt over at low speed. Also to accommodate the tricycle landing gear the fuselage was made wider. Plus, an autopilot system was installed so that as the pilot was on his bombing run he could concentrate on his bombing targets. One of the other problems that were worked around was adding Walther 109-500 RATO motors (Rocket-Assisted Take Off) were used to shorten the aircraft's lengthy take-off run.

The pilot controlled the plane from the forward nose compartment which had an incredible amount of visibility, though the position made the 6 o'clock position behind the pilot extremely vulnerable. So a periscope was installed to counter this disability. The periscope would have doubled up as a sight for the guns on the tail that were meant to be installed but never were. Also, it could serve as a dive-bombing sight. The control yoke was moved aside inside the cockpit so that it could be moved out of the way when on the bombing run. When this was moved out of the way the pilot looked into a bombsight located in between his knees. Like many German aircraft, the main controls and gauges were colour-coded for easy recognition by the ground crews.

The main unit to use this aircraft in combat was KG76 who were based in Norway, though other units also used this aircraft. This aircraft had limited usefulness as fuel and engine production was what would send it out of combat at the end of the war.

In-game description

The Arado Ar 234 Blitz (Lightning) was the world's first operational jet bomber, built by Arado in Germany during WWII. It was used by the Luftwaffe for reconnaissance from November 1944 and as a fast bomber against Allied targets from December of that year. Despite the fact that late in the war the plane was used only sporadically due to a fuel shortage, it remained a very difficult target to intercept because of its high speed.

As a bomber, the Ar-234B-2 could carry a payload of up to 2,000 kg and could also be used for reconnaissance.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
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