Ar 196 A-5 (Sweden)

This page is about the bomber Ar 196 A-5 (Sweden). For the German version, see Ar 196 A-3.

▄Ar 196 A-5

▄Ar 196 A-5

Sweden

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	1.3	1.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Bomber

Light bomber

Hydroplane

Purchase:400

Show in game

Description

The ▄Ar 196 A-5 is a premium rank I Swedish bomber with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB/SB) and 1.3 (RB). It was introduced in Update "Drone Age". This is a nearly identical to the Ar 196 A-3 found in the German aviation and naval tree (as scout), with the singular upgrade of a significantly more potent rear defensive gun. It will do best in ground combat as the MG FF load is better against ground, plus the two 50kg bombs for soft ground targets. The seaplane may have additional utility in Air Sim combat that has a water cap zone.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed

at 2 000 m320 km/h

Turn time21 s

Max altitude6 000 m

EngineBMW 132K

TypeRadial

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight3 t

The Arado Ar 196 A-5 features favourable flight characteristics - it is stable, and a good gun platform. Its flight performance may take enemy fighters off guard, as its turning ability rivals most monoplanes at lower ranks and it can hold its own against even biplanes. However, its weight and drag mean that its energy retention in the vertical is almost non-existent, meaning you'll want to keep your fights strictly horizontal. The aircraft also takes damage very well, able to fight decently even in a critically damaged state. Its speed is reasonable for an aircraft of its type, and its dive performance is favourable for a floatplane, but it will be outrun by essentially all dedicated fighters.

Characteristics	Max speed (km/h at 2,000 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	300	292	6000	22.2	23.2	4.1	4.1	450
Upgraded	344	320		19.9	21.0	11.2	7.0

Details

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

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
570	550	___	___	___	~__	~__

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 170	< 180	< 165	> ___

Survivability and armour

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural570 km/h

Gear550 km/h

The A-5 has no armour. The survivability though, is fairly average, being able to take a lot of small calibre fire but falling apart fairly quickly under anything higher in calibre than a heavy machine gun. The floats and engine in particular are fairly large targets, and with all of the 196's fuel stored in the floats, you don't want to be taking too much damage to them. The engine is fairly resilient, being able to hold out with large amounts of battle damage, but as with any engine trouble it's paramount to return to base as soon as possible.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB148

RB193

SB5 506

Crew training450

Experts3 000

Aces45

Research Aces220 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 20 / 40 / 80 %

2 × 100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Fuselage repair Radiator Compressor Wings repair Engine Engine injection	Airframe Cover	mg_belt_pack mgff_belt_pack mg17_new_gun mg_turret_belt_pack mgff_new_gun mg81_turret_new_gun

Armaments

Offensive armament

Weapon 12 x 20 mm MG FF cannon

Ammunition120 rounds

Fire rate520 shots/min

Weapon 27.92 mm MG 17 machine gun

Ammunition500 rounds

Fire rate1 200 shots/min

The Ar 196 A-5 (Sweden) is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm MG FF cannons, wing-mounted (60 rpg = 120 total)
• 1 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun, nose-mounted (500 rpg)

Suspended armament

List of setups (1)

Setup 12 x 50 kg SC50JA bomb

The Ar 196 A-5 (Sweden) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• 2 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (100 kg total)

Defensive armament

Turret2 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Fire rate1597 shots/min

The Ar 196 A-5 (Sweden) is defended by:

• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 81 machine guns, dorsal turret (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)

Usage in battles

The Arado functions well as a support fighter, having good firepower out the back and front. A competent 196 pilot can turn the tide of a dogfight, as its turning ability and powerful weaponry make short work of early war fighters, this is one of very few to mount 20mm at this BR. The MG 81Z in the observer's position (twin MG 81Js) is also a very real threat to enemy aircraft, sporting a very high fire rate with armour piercing and incendiary ammunition. The 196 however, does not have a huge amount of staying power in a fight, as its 20 mm cannons do not have a very large ammunition pool - and once it's depleted the pilot is left with only a single 7.92 mm MG 17. Its flaps, however, are very effective - meaning they drastically reduce the turning radius and have very high rip speeds, which can be used to its advantage during an engagement.

The Ar 196's speed is a limiting factor, as it can only chase down the very slowest of aircraft, most of which are bombers. It is recommended that you climb to a reasonable altitude, which will allow you to go into engagements with a speed advantage and not leave you stranded at low altitude with very little speed. Armed with only a pair of 50 kg bombs, the Arado does not make a very capable bomber, but it can put them to reasonably good use by taking out some light ground units before engaging enemies in the air.

Its cockpit visibility is reasonably good, with great views out the front and back, though spars somewhat obfuscate the view at both sides, meaning you may have to roll a little from side to side to gain visibility in those areas.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful offensive armament
• Potent defensive armament
• Well defended
• Reasonably rugged
• Great flaps
• Great flight characteristics for an aircraft of its type

Cons:

• Slow
• Vulnerable to damage to floats
• Poor bomb load

History

The Ar 196 was an excellent seaplane thus found itself used by many different military forces even long after the end of the war. Finland "borrowed" three Ar 196 for its its needs over the lake festooned country. At first they flew under German markings (GA+DO (A-2), A3+AC and A3+BC (A-3s)) eventually the marking changed to original Finnish markings ("AR-196" on fuselage with a large number on rudder). At first the three were updated to A-5 configuration, and then the Finnish started swapping with local equipment and weapons. After the end of the "Continuation war" in 1944, Finland was forced to return the Ar 196s to Germany.

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

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

Sweden bombers
B3	B3C
B17	B17A · B17B · S17BS
SAAB 18	B18A · B18B · T18B · T18B (57)
T 2	T 2
Finland	▄Ar 196 A-5 · ▄Ju 88 A-4