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Roden 454 Arado Ar 68F-1 1:48 |
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In 1935, when the famous He 51 biplane fighter was already tested and proven, another aircraft appeared, purposed for the same role and structurally similar, the Arado Ar 68. Despite the fact that in comparative testing of the two types, the development from Arado displayed better performance, the military still showed a preference for the He 51 and soon it joined the ranks of the Luftwaffe in large numbers. Nevertheless, the newly appointed Chief Inspector of Fighter Aviation and famous ace of the First World War, Ernst Udet, insisted to his longtime comrade and Luftwaffe commander, Hermann Goering, that the Arado design should also reach military units. He was confident in the excellent qualities of the aircraft and believed that for a trained pilot, this fighter would be superior to all other types.
Even during the aircraft's development, its designers provided a measure of standardization in areas of its design, which permitted the installation of several different types of engines. The BMW VI-7.3Z engine was chosen to modify the Arado Ar 68F. Compared to the E variant of the Arado Ar 68, which had a Jumo 210E engine, flight performance decreased slightly, but at that time the military leadership was generally satisfied and soon the Arado Ar 68F was being built in limited numbers. |
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