floatplane Finnish Arado Ar 196 A-5

[Alexandros11 100]

The Arado Ar-196 was a well designed and very effective reconnaissance aircraft in ww2 and deserves more of a place in the game outside of an event vehicle status, I propose the addition of an A-5 model to be added to the Swedish Tier I Premium line as hundreds of them were built and the Finnish purchased and used many of them in combat! I suggest  Premium  as amongst other aircraft in the war it's not a hugely common sight and just feels right in terms of fitting in the game as a premium, I don't think it would work well as a standard tech tree. Also, the rest of the Finnish aircraft are in the premium line so it's better to keep the line consistent.

 

The variant the Fins purchased was the A-3 which were then converted into the A-5. the upgrades involved adding the MG FF/M cannons which were capable of firing the Minengeschoß round and had an extra 30 rounds of ammunition per gun bringing the total ammo count for the cannons from 120 to 180 (Some Finnish crews replaced the engine cowling MG 17 with a 12.7mm LKk/42 machine gun). The A-5 also had upgraded defensive armament - removing the single MG 15 from the A-3 and instead installing twin MG 81 machine guns with 2000 rounds of ammunition (known as MG 81Z), vastly improving the defensive capability. In order to effectively protect the crew against the higher calibre weaponry of the mid-war the fins also installed armour plating in the pilot seat, behind and in front of the pilot and in the gunner position. The A-5 also had a strengthened airframe, meaning it could soak up more damage and keep flying - this should translate into a more robust damage model. Finnish ground crews often added extra shackles as a field modification to hold up to four 100 kg bombs. Thanks to Chomusuke1, who let me know about the engine upgrade on the A-5 which I was previously unaware of - the BMW 132K was upgraded to the 132W which had a more powerful output.

 

Here are some specifications of the Arado Ar-196 A-5

 

Engine: x1 BMW 132W 9-cylinder air cooled radial piston engine (standard 920HP, takeoff power 1,050HP)

Armament: x1 7.92mm MG 17 Machine Gun (500 rounds) or x1 12.7mm LKk/42 machine gun (300 rounds), x2 20mm MG FF/M Cannon (180 rounds), x1 MG 81Z defensive gun (2000 rounds)

Bombs:  2x 50kg bombs or 4x 100kg bombs

Maximum speed: 332 km/h @ sea level 

Range: 1,070 km

Service ceiling: 7,020m

Climb rate: 360 metres/minute

Empty Weight: 2990kg (6591lbs)

Loaded Weight: 3618kg (7976lbs) (with full fuel load and bombs)

Span: 12.42m (40.75ft)

Length: 10.96m (35.95ft)

Height: 4.44m (14.58ft)

Wing area: 28.29 sq. m (304.618 sq. ft.)

 

Proposed Battle Rating: Considering it's a pretty clear upgrade over the A-3 I recommend a br of 2.3 (AB), 2.3 (RB), 2.0 (SB) as it's slightly faster, better armed and better armoured/more durable. However, it should still stay in Tier I and EC1 for sim as it's upgrades are not a game-changer to it's role or effectiveness, but rather just an upgrade to stave off obsolescence and keep it kicking in the air! The MG 17 and LKk/42 machine gun should be switchable armament presets, like the nose armament on some 109 models - a tradeoff between more ammo and a more powerful gun.

 

After being on a waiting list I've received documents from the Finnish National Archives on the Arado 196 and had them professionally translated. I've put them in an imgur album

 

Primary Sources (Imgur album): https://imgur.com/gallery/g1wqWum

 

Source 1: (cross reference MG 81Z)  https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.php?aircraft_id=320

Source 2: (Ammunition load for MG 17)  https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/arado-ar-196-5/nasm_A19610128000

Source 3: (Finnish using A-5, MG FF/M cannon, 90 round mag, MG81Z and ammunition load, cross reference added armour)  https://militaryaviationhistory.blogspot.com/2022/04/arado-ar-196-eyes-of-kreigsmarine.html

Source 4: (Cross reference Finnish using A-5)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Air_Force

Source 5: (Armour plating for pilot and observer, cross reference extended magazines for cannons)  https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Arado_Ar_196

Source 6: (Technical Specs + performance for A-5)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_196

Source 7: (Use of 100kg bombs on Finnish models) https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Ar-196/Arado-Ar-196.html

Source 8: (Discussion on Finnish Arados) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5DhToyhvc4&t=186s

 

 

I hope you agree this would give us floatplane enthusiasts who joined post 2020 a chance to enjoy this incredible aircraft!

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2022 by Alexandros11
Housekeeping

[leroyonly 4,310]

Open for discussion. 

[M2ABRAMSTANK 1]

I would love to see this in the game, for the swedish tree of course!

[Folfy 4]

Gayjiggles add funny finnish areoplane

[Alexandros11 100]

Just now, Folfy said:

Gayjiggles add funny finnish areoplane

Couldn't have put it better myself

[NRT_Johnson@psn 7]

I'd love to have this in the swedish tree, adding more variety for low tier CAS!!

[gihrenzabi 5]

Rock solid source this time: translated Finnish National Archives! How about that, now that's dedicated research. I wish you the best of luck to get this plane added

[Alexandros11 100]

On 04/05/2022 at 00:08, gihrenzabi said:

Rock solid source this time: translated Finnish National Archives! How about that, now that's dedicated research. I wish you the best of luck to get this plane added

It was a lot of work! But I'm glad in the end I got the confirmation I needed - next step is to get Gaijin to add it! 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Alexandros11

[China_Air 1]

Wuld be a nice addition 

[Tinmartinop 4]

a plane like this would surely be a nice addition to both swedish and german tech trees

[Milocat 4,854]

+1 for sure, I'd love to see this.

[AboveTheClouds83 2]

Yep, would love to see this one in game too!

[Alexandros11 100]

11 minutes ago, AboveTheClouds83 said:

Yep, would love to see this one in game too!

It would be a dream to have a fight with a zero in this thing, pretty good guns out the front and back! Weirdly, I feel as if I'd take it out into 3.7-4.7 with my Pyorremyrsky and 109 G-6 as it kind of has a niche there? Would have very fast turn rate and pretty decent weaponry even for that BR. Mostly probably as a reconnaisance aircraft that can do odd jobs here and there at high alts (take out recon planes, help cap A points, support a friendly in an emergency). Not neccesarily better than other aircraft at that role but there's just something special about it idk (especially as it was actually flying in that time period too). Sometimes the most effective vehicles aren't necessarily the most fun

Edited May 5, 2022 by Alexandros11

[Folfy 4]

On 03/05/2022 at 18:18, GTS_VT_Jonsoon81@psn said:

I'd love to have this in the swedish tree, adding more variety for low tier CAS!!

I agree! I think War thunder should really start going back into lower tiers there is soooo much they could add! On top of this I think adding scout planes would be awesome to the game! In a way dedicated scout planes. Now like hear my out. We have light tanks that could do scouting and stuff but planes made to do this type of stuff such as the Arado that (please Gaijin add) was a dedicated scout plane could use a *ability* if you will that allows it to automatically mark targets at a certain altitude? Kinda like how light tanks have the bino ability. It would present itself in my eyes as a very useful CAS aircraft because of its ability to fly over and spot enemy targets. Even in SIM! I think it would be great if you were working together since targets can be a bit hard to see. Even if "scout planes" are never added it would still be awesome to see this amazing Finnish plane added.

[Chomusuke1 1,219]

+1 but the German side needs an A-5 as well since the current Ar 196 A-3 is out of place on all the +1943 ships on the German side (Prinz Eugen, Scharnhorst)

[Alexandros11 100]

2 hours ago, Chomusuke1 said:

+1 but the German side needs an A-5 as well since the current Ar 196 A-3 is out of place on all the +1943 ships on the German side (Prinz Eugen, Scharnhorst)

That's true although the plane that's launched from the ships and the plane that's in the tech tree don't necessarily have the be the same plane

[IGotAFeeling 1]

Wow! Had no idea fins were using this beauty id love to see it, nice upgrades with the 20s i see

[avp216 23]

Supporting the cause, for the Great Lord Arado!

[NovA29 1,592]

amen)))

[_IronDogs 32]

Beautiful plane, would love to see this in game.
Arado praise be!

[Arcadia_Nyx 811]

+1 Very interesting aircraft. There were several references in the history that it was operated as a troop transport aircraft, flying out of a lake.

Murmur: The Ar196 has fuel tanks on the floats, so the model I am thinking of probably does not exist, but do you know if a model with sleds instead of floats existed? In Finland, there are many aircraft with sleds because the lakes freeze over, and it would be interesting to see an Ar196 modified and equipped with its own valiant with a sled...

 

[Alexandros11 100]

20 minutes ago, Alpine_Lynx said:

+1 Very interesting aircraft. There were several references in the history that it was operated as a troop transport aircraft, flying out of a lake.

Murmur: The Ar196 has fuel tanks on the floats, so the model I am thinking of probably does not exist, but do you know if a model with sleds instead of floats existed? In Finland, there are many aircraft with sleds because the lakes freeze over, and it would be interesting to see an Ar196 modified and equipped with its own valiant with a sled...

 

Yes, I've also heard these stories about troop transport. I don't think the floats could be removed as they were fixed pretty permanently in place and I don't know where the fuel would have gone. You are right though, they were used for troop transport though it probably would have been 1-3 people at a time. I suppose one solider could squeeze in with the gunner and two more in the storage space in the fuselage behind the gunner - this is probably what is meant when it says it was used for troop transport!

 

Also, perhaps the Arado 196 was only used by the Fins in summer when the lakes weren't frozen? My references are all from June-August so it's possible they simply had to use some other aircraft during the summer  or they might have had to be coastal based during the winter months as the sea doesn't freeze over.

Edited May 10, 2022 by Alexandros11

[Foxtrot_Ace 309]

+1
yeah this is pretty cool 

[NovA29 1,592]

you want it in sweden tree?

[Alexandros11 100]

14 minutes ago, NovA29R said:

you want it in sweden tree?

Yeah that's what I was thinking, as a tier I premium - would you have any interesting in modelling the small changes? (MG 81Z, armour for pilot and gunner, new cannons... etc)