Ar 196 A-3

Ar 196 A-3

Ar 196 A-3

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	1.3	1.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Bomber

Light bomber

Hydroplane

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

Show in game

Description

The Ar 196 A-3 is a premium gift rank I German bomber with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB/SB) and 1.3 (RB). It was introduced during Update "Starfighters" as a reward for the 2020 Operation S.U.M.M.E.R. event.

The German Ar 196 A-3 hydroplane, one of the best naval scouts in history, nicknamed "the eyes of the Kriegsmarine"! The Ar 196 A-3 has every chance of becoming the new “king of the sandpit”: it is armed with a pair of 20mm MG FF cannons and an MG 17 rifle caliber machine gun, it can also carry 2x50 kg bombs under its wings. The Ar 196 A-3 also has a defensive turret with a 7.92mm machine gun, which is quite good in the initial ranks. And of course, just like the other hydroplanes in the game, the Ar 196 A-3 is able to capture control points in naval battles.

General info

Flight performance

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	301	293	6000	21.8	22.9	4.4	4.3	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	520	520	320	~9	~8

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 270	< 280	< 250	> 324

Survivability and armour

• No armour protection
• Self-sealing fuel tanks in the floats

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Ar 196 A-3 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, fuselage-mounted (500 rpg)

Suspended armament

The Ar 196 A-3 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

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

Defensive armament

The Ar 196 A-3 is defended by:

• 1 x 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun, dorsal turret (525 rpg)

Usage in battles

Realistic: The Arado Ar 196 excels at destroying light ground targets, and with its twin MG FF armament it can head-on virtually any aircraft at the BR and win. Compound that with the fact that there are many inexperienced players at the BR who will head-on any target they meet, and it will be easy to accrue kills. However, the 196 loses energy very easily due to the 2 massive floats strapped to the bottom of the fuselage. The 196 usually goes out in a "blaze of glory" early on into the match, due to the playsytle revolving around killing ground targets.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Separate	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm	Offensive 20 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
III	Wings repair	Engine		Turret 7 mm	New 20 mm cannons
IV		Engine injection	Cover	New 7 mm MGs (turret)
This is a premium vehicle; all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".

Pros:

• Cannon armament
• Tail gunner for fighters that will inevitably be on your tail
• Powerful guns for BR
• Can be very useful for capping points in Naval RB and AB

Cons

• Fuel tanks are located in the pontoons making the aircraft very vulnerable to both ground SPAA and other planes
• Poor performance
• Low ammo count reduces the plane's effectiveness in dogfights
• Loses energy easily
• Slow

History

Although it exerted only a minor influence on World War II, the Arado Ar 196A was nevertheless an important type. Possessed of quite a useful performance, and remarkably heavily armed, it served all round the coastal areas of Hitler's Europe and was also the standard aircraft carried aboard major surface warships of the German navy, the biggest battleships (Bismarck and Tirpitz) carrying four each.

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

• 

  Bulgarian Camouflage (S.U.M.M.E.R Reward Skin)

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Vought OS2U-1 Kingfisher
• Vought OS2U-3 Kingfisher
• Mitsubishi F1M2

External links

• [Special] Operation S.U.M.M.E.R. 2020
• [Development] Operation S.U.M.M.E.R. Ar 196 A-3

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