Arado Ar 196A by MPM
1/48 scale
Kit No. 48031
Retail: $38.00 and up (Aftermarket, Out of Production)
Decals: Two versions, by Propagteam, both Kriegsmarine WWII
Comments: Engraved panel lines, resin detail parts, vacuform canopy
History
The Ar 196 was a low-wing, shipboard reconnaissance monoplane built by the German firm Arado. Design work began in 1936, and in 1937 it won a design competition to become the standard aircraft of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy), a status it would retain throughout World War II. The Ar 196 had an edge over competing designs as it was the only monoplane submitted at a time when other manufacturers were for the most part still clinging to biplane technology. It was faster, more rugged and more aerodynamic than its competitors.
There were two basic versions with modifications of each. The first was a shipboard version designed to be catapulted from warships (the A-1 and A-4 models). The second was for a coastal variant, designed to patrol and defend coastal areas and operating out of ports (the A-2 and A-3 models). The Ar 196 had a single BMW 132K engine capable of speeds of up to 310 kilometers per hour (192.6 mph). The first production model of the series was the A-1 ship-launched variant, featuring wing-mounted 7.62mm machine guns. Only twenty of this variant were produced, reaching front-line units in 1939. The type saw continuous action with the German fleet, and different variants were introduced into service until the last variant, the A-5, entered service in 1943.
While its floats induced drag, compromising both maneuverability and top speed, the Ar 196 proved to be a highly adaptable platform and was very successful operationally. The A-2 had higher production numbers with armament consisting of two 20mm MG FF cannon mounted in a forward firing position in the wings, coupled with a 7.92mm machine gun in a forward firing position and another 7.92mm machine gun mounted in the rear gunner position. Optional armament consisted of up two 50 kilogram bombs.
The Ar 196 had a total length of eleven meters with a total weight of 2,335 kilograms unloaded. Wingspan was twelve meters. Operational range was around 665 kilometers with a service ceiling of 7,000 meters. The Arado was admired for its performance in the field, being a reliable aircraft when patrolling the seas and, being armed, it was also capable of eliminating enemy fighters that crossed its path.
Design and Development
As of 1933, the Kriegsmarine was seeking a standard shipboard reconnaissance aircraft. After a brief selection period the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM, German Air Ministry) decided on the Heinkel He 60 biplane, one of many developments of a basic biplane airframe used on several floatplanes, trainers, and fighters of the day. By 1935 it was clear that the He 60’s performance was lacking and the RLM asked Heinkel to design its replacement. The result was the He 114. The first prototype was powered by the Daimler-Benz DB 600 in-line engine, but it was clear that supplies of this engine would be limited and the production versions turned to the BMW 132 radial engine instead.
The He 114 had only slightly better performance than the He 60, and its sea handling was poor. Hasty modifications resulted in a series of nine prototypes in an attempt to solve some of the problems, but they fell short. The Kreigsmarine gave up, and the planes were eventually sold off to Romania, Spain and Sweden. In October 1936, the RLM asked for proposals to replace the He 114, stipulating that it had to use the BMW 132 engine, and that prototypes in both twin-float and single-float configurations be produced. Dornier, Gotha, Arado and Focke Wulf submitted designs. Heinkel declined, contending that the He 114 could still be made to work.
With the exception of Arado’s low-wing monoplane design, all were conventional biplanes. Arado had the edge in terms of better performance than its competitors, and the RLM ordered four prototypes. But the RLM also hedged its bets, and ordered two of the Focke-Wulf Fw.62 design as insurance. It quickly became clear that the Arado would work effectively, and after four prototypes, no further examples of the Fw.62 were built.
The Ar.196 prototypes were all delivered in summer 1937, V1 (which flew in May) and V2 with twin floats as A models, and V3 and V4 on a single float as Ar 196B models. Both versions demonstrated excellent water handling and there seemed to be little to decide one over the other. Since there was a possibility of the smaller outrigger floats on the B models “digging in”, the twin-float Ar 196A model was ordered into production. A single additional prototype, V5, was produced in November 1938 to test final changes.
Ten Ar.196A-0s were delivered in November and December 1938, with a single 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun in the rear seat for defense. Five similarly equipped B-0s were also delivered to land-based squadrons. This was followed by twenty A-1 production models starting in June 1939, enough to equip the surface fleet.
Starting in November 1939, production switched to the heavier land-based Ar.196A-2 model. It added shackles for two 50 kg (110 lb.) bombs, two 20 mm MG FF cannons in the wings, and a 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun in the cowling. The Ar 196A-4 replaced it in December 1940, strengthening the airframe, adding another radio, and switching propellers to a VDM model. The apparently mis-numbered Ar 196A-3 replaced the Ar.196A-4, with additional strengthening of the airframe. The final production version was the Ar 196A-5 from 1943, which changed radios and cockpit instruments, and switched the rear gun to the much-improved MG 81Z, which had a rate of fire double that of the MG 81. In all, 541 Ar 196’s (526 production models) were built before production ended in August 1944, about 100 of these from SNCA and Fokker plants. The Ar 196C was a proposed aerodynamically-refined version, but was cancelled in 1941.
Operational History
Pilots loved the Ar 196, reporting that it handled well both in the air and on the water. With the loss of the German surface fleet the Ar 196A-1s were added to coastal squadrons and continued to fly reconnaissance missions and submarine hunts into late 1944. Two notable operations were the capture of the submarine HMS Seal, and the repeated interception of RAF Armstrong-Whitworth Whitley bombers. Although it was no match for fighters, the Ar 196 was considerably better than its Allied counterparts, and generally considered the best of its class. Owing to its good handling on water, the Finnish Air Force used the Ar 196 for transporting and supplying special forces patrols behind enemy lines, landing on small lakes in remote areas.
On May 5, 1940 Lt Gunther Mehrens, flying an Ar 196A-3 of Ku.FlGr.706, spotted the damaged British submarine HMS Seal, which was attempting to lay mines in the Kattegat, the body of water between Norway, Denmark and Sweden. Mehrens attacked the sub with cannon fire and bombs, forcing the crew to surrender, before landing next to the sub. He then collected Lt. Commander R. Lonsdale, HMS Seal’s commanding officer, and flew him to Aalborg, while the sub was towed to Frederikshaven.
Ar 196s were assigned to several surface raiders which broke through to the Pacific and Indian oceans in 1940 and 1941, as were a handful of He114s. These aircraft were used to extend the scouting range of the German cruisers by finding and tracking target vessels. They were also occasionally used to attack ships, often using grappling hooks to attempt to rip away radio antennae to prevent targets from sending SOS messages and revealing the location of the raider. Although useful when operating in this role, Ar 196s proved fragile when operating away from normal fleet facilities. They rarely remained functional by the end of a raiding cruise, usually having been lost or damaged in takeoff and landing operations.
In 1944 a number of Ar 196s operated from the German submarine base at Penang, on the west coast of Malaya. These aircraft were painted with Japanese markings and were tasked with providing support for the U-boats operating in the Indian Ocean, which were often attacked by British submarines.
The Kit
MPM’s Arado Ar 196A is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 67 parts, in addition to 38 resin detail parts for several components including but not limited to the pilot’s seat, control yoke, rudder pedals, rear machine gun, drum magazines for the rear machine gun, external machine gun barrel for the forward firing fuselage-mounted machine gun, under wing bomb racks, and a chute for spent shell casings from the rear-mounted MG 81 machine gun. The airframe features engraved panel lines and a subtle recreation of fabric stretched over a metal frame along the length of the fuselage. A single vacuform canopy is also provided.
Construction begins with the lengthy cockpit floor to which a host of resin parts are to be cemented (rudder pedals, control yoke and pedestal, and in the rear drum magazines, and a structure upon which the rear machine gun is mounted. Colors are called out using the Humbrol brand only. Two slab-like plastic parts form the internal cockpit sidewalls, onto which resin instrumentation is cemented. One point of interest is that there is no seat as such for the rear gunner, instead it appears that a bench of sorts is provided for him. The resin parts include a wheel to be cemented to the side of the seat, no doubt to facilitate adjustment.
The floats are presented in two halves with two support struts each, cross struts, and separate parts for the twin rudders combined with two larger support struts on each side connecting the floats to the mid-section of each wing. Although the fuselage is in two halves, the belly which doubles as the center section of the wing is a separate part, so some seam hiding may be required on the under surface of the wing.
The engine may be the jewel in the crown of this kit, as 18 fairly detailed, injection molded, separate piston heads must be cemented to the central engine block consisting of two cylindrical parts. The cowling is two parts, but thankfully they are not split along the plane’s longitudinal axis, so hopefully no serious seam hiding will be in order here. The true test of the kit’s engineering will be whether the cowling can fit comfortably over the cylinder heads once they are all cemented on. There are individually mounted propeller blades and a separate spinner for the airscrew. A small diagram is provided to assist with placing the bracing wires (six in all) between the two floats.
Markings
The decals are by Propagteam and fully uphold this manufacturer’s standard of excellence. They have vibrant, realistic color; they are absolutely in register with no color bleed whatsoever, and have a subtle semi-gloss finish. The first version is for an Ar 196 A-3 of Stab./Seeaufkl.Gr. 125, a maritime reconnaissance group responsible for recon operations over the Aegean Sea circa 1942. It is painted in a two-tone green splinter camouflage scheme of
RLM 72 and RLM 73, over Hellblau RLM 65, with yellow RLM 04 on the outer panels of the under surfaces of the wings. The front half of its spinner is red RLM 23, the rear half is RLM 72.
The second version is for an Ar 196 A-1 assigned to the German battle cruiser Graf Spee circa 1939. The Graf Spee gained notoriety as the vessel whose captain ordered her scuttled in the River Plate in Uruguay in December 1939 after a bruising engagement with Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, Ajax and Achilles. This version also features a two-tone green splinter camouflage scheme of RLM 72 and RLM 73, over Hellblau RLM 65, the key difference in paint scheme being that no portion of the airframe appears in yellow RLM 04, and its spinner is painted entirely in green RLM 72. This aircraft is unique in having German markings on four of the traditional six positions, but the underside of its wings bears the roundels of the Royal Air Force, no doubt intended to deceive any Royal Navy or Allied vessels it was shadowing (had this aircraft ever been captured, one wonders if the aircrew could have been shot as spies).
Conclusion
This is a highly detailed kit of what is reputed to be the last floatplane employed in Europe. With its resin detail parts and excellent decals it should build up into a gem of a kit. Highly recommended.
References
- https://www.skytamer.com/Arado_Ar.196A.html
- https://ww2-history.fandom.com/wiki/Arado_Ar_196
- https://pacificeagles.net/arado-ar196/
- https://airandspace.si.edu/
- https://militaryfactory.com