Re: Some enlarged and "tweaked" known photos of Ar 234s

[Stig Jarlevik]

Originally Posted by Karoband

Hi Stig,
I
cannot remember (Senior moment!) why I thought it was ES.
Jim

No worries Jim
I suppose ehhhh welcome to the Club.....
Cheers
Stig

[Karoband]

Thanks, Stig.

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1623

142. Smith & Creek, Ar 234 Blitz, (Classic, 2022), on p. 212, caption this photo as, "Hptm. Josef Regler's Ar 234 B-2 F1+MT, W.Nr. 140173 after crash landing at Salgerdorf on 22 February 1945 ... ."


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143. In the afternoon of 22 February 1945, fourteen Arados of KG 76 took off to bomb enemy columns in the Aachen area in shallow dives. At 17:35 hours, 1st Lt. David B. Fox in a P-47 of 391 FS/366 FG claimed a "Me 262" that "bellied in" 10 miles north-east of Aachen, but film from his gun-camera showed that it was an Ar 234. Hptm. Regler, Lukesch's replacement as staffelkapitän of 9./KG 76, made an emergency landing just inside German lines near Selgerdorf. Regler was safe, but the first Arado Ar 234 to fall into Allied hands was captured the next day.
"The aircraft was examined briefly and dismantled ready for shipment to the UK, while still under fire from the Germans, who were probably attempting to destroy it. It was found to be only slightly damaged," Creek & Forsyth, p. 125 quoting UKNA/AVIA 6/9212: Ar 234 Jet-Propelled Bomber, Report No. 2324, AI(g), 27 March 1945.


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144. The captured Arado was Ar 234 B-2 W.Nr. 140173 "F1+MT" (yellow "M") of 9./KG 76. This photograph shows how operational units of KG 76 used sprays of off-white, probably available RLM 76, to make their Arados less conspicuous in winter. Note the intact turbines, jettisoned hatch and almost totally smashed forward windscreen.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1626

In this photo the jettisoned hatch has been replaced but the smashed windscreen and collapse of the forward instrument panel is obvious.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1627

146. While the first intact Jumo 004Bs were of special interest and are missing in this photograph taken at Farnborough, also of interest would have been the PDS gyroscope, the Patin automatic pilot and BZA bombsight. Moreover, a staffelkapitän's aircraft would also have had the FuS An 730 Freya-Egon navigational device for blind flying that amazed American gunners at Remagen seeing Arados diving out of the clouds, right over the Ludendorf Bridge. Unfortunately, the smashed windscreen may indicate that German troops had removed or destroyed those prizes.
Note the damage to the the starboard wing that was not there when captured.

[Karoband]

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1628

147. In August 1943, it was, in theory, a good idea to replace the two Junkers Jumo 109-004 B-0 turbojets on the Arado Ar 234 with four BMW 109-003 A-0s. While the BMWs had yet to produce their promised 800 kg. of thrust compared to the 900 kg. of the Jumo, the BMW weighed only 623 kg. compared to 745 kg. of the Junkers. That meant that an Ar 234 airframe could just accommodate the weight of four 003s, giving a total thrust of 3200 kg. for an engine weight of 2492 kg. compared to a thrust of 1800 kg. for a weight of 1490 kg. of two Jumos. "Preliminary performance figures for the project looked promising, including a maximum speed of 860 km./h (534 mph) at 4000 m. (13,000 ft.) and a range of 1,470 km. at 12,000 m. (39,370 ft.)," Smith & Creek, Ar 234 Blitz, (Classic, 2022), p. 150. This would make it faster than the Me 262 but it would need reliable engines, a pressurized cockpit and a new tricycle undercarriage to carry the weight of engines and cockpit. There was also a drawback. The BMW 003 was designed to run on B4 87-octane aviation fuel.
Two configurations using Ar 234 Anton airframes were designed by Arado to test the four engine concept. The V6 (W.Nr. 130006; "GK+IW") would have two individual, separated nacelles under each wing, while the V8 (W.Nr. 130008; "GK+IY") would have paired nacelles. The V8, seen here under construction, was the first of the two to fly on 2 February 1944.


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148. This screenshot shows that the V6 and V8, like the other Antons, used tubular jacks to lift the aircraft so that the take-off trolley could be placed beneath it.


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149, Arado's test pilot, Flugkapitän Johan-Ubbo Janssen, immediately encountered problems. For the V8, the most serious concerns were the Henschel-built, unreliable fuel pumps that emptied fuel tanks at uneven rates causing great shifts in the centre of gravity, (Pawlas, p. 85) and the fact that the 003s regularly flamed out and could not yet be restarted in the air.


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150. The final flight for the V8 was on 6 May 1944. Persistant problems with fuel pumps, throttles, landing flaps,hydraulics and skids made this aircraft too dangerous to fly. Janssen aborted this final flight, (Pawlas, p. 120)

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Karoband

Thanks, Stig.

crash landing at Salgerdorf on 22 February 1945 ... ."

… made an emergency landing just inside German lines near Selgerdorf

Two typos. The crash location is spelled Selgersdorf (with an ‘s’ in the middle): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selgersdorf

[Karoband]

Thanks, Nick. Just checked. Both typos are mine. And there is a thread in TOCH on the spelling!

[Karoband]

forum.12oclockhigh.net/album.php?albumid=73&pictureid=1632

151. The Arado Ar 234 V6 (Wn.Nr. 130006; "GK+IW") first flew on 25 April 1944 using four BMW 003 A-0 turbojets in four separated nacelles. Ubbo Janssen reported that he was constantly throttling to control the engines and that they could not be restarted in flight, Pawlas, p. 110.


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152. As one of its innovations, the V6 had radio telemetry of each exhaust temperature, Pawlas, p. 122.


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153. Problems with the V6 included inconsistent fuel flows to the engines and swings in the centre of gravity due to uneven emptying of the fuel tanks. At 7000 m. the Henschel pumps could only inject enough fuel for idling and the aircraft became uncontrollable and went into a spin on 30 May 1944, Pawlas, p. 166.


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154. The final straw for Ubbo Janssen came on 1 June 1944. After about ten minutes, all four engines cut out at 500 m. over a wide forest. He managed to relight number two and, losing height, made a quick notlandung in the first open field he saw. In his report of 14 June, he summed it up:
"Abschliessend ist zu sagen, das die BMW-Triebwerke in dieser Form nicht erprobungs reif sind. Das Risiko ist untragbar Geworden, Pawlas, p. 154. Neither the V6 nor the V8 flew again. However it had been concluded that the paired configuration was superior.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Karoband

Thanks, Nick. Just checked. Both typos are mine. And there is a thread in TOCH on the spelling!

Only trust maps!

[Karoband]

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1636

155. After two months of adjustments, a new paired set of BMW 003 A-0s were fitted to the wings of a standard Ar 234 Berta prototype with its tricycle undercarriage. The Ar 234 V13 (W.Nr. 130023; "PH+SU") was delivered on 30 August 1944 and, despite his misgivings, Ubbo Janssen made the first flight on 6 September 1944 using the same Henschel fuel pumps as on the V6 and V8.
This is a frontal view of the V13. Not only does the Berta cabin have the downward sloping main spar separating the periplex windscreens, but the fuselage has only one set of main wheel doors above the tyres. Note the distinctive grey colour of V13.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1637

156. Janssen's misgivings were justified. On its first flight, on take-off, the two outer turbos (numbers 1 and 4) flamed out and number 3 lost power. At 20 metres, Janssen turned back but had to belly-land before reaching the airfield boundary.


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157. On page 83 of Smith & Creek's Arado Ar 234 Blitz, (Monogram, 1992) they caption this photo and the one above as:
"The only genuine B-Series airframe to be fitted with four separate engines was the Ar 234 V13. The aircraft made one flight, on September 6, 1944, but crashed following the successive failure of three engines. The airframe was then transferred to the Technical High School at Jüterbog for instructional purposes." The engines were removed and sent to BMW Berlin, Pawlas, p. 284.


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158. The unusual grey colour and darker rudder stand out in this picture of the V13.

[egbert]

This is the right time for some more treasures.......

[Karoband]

Hi egbert,

OK. Here it is.

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1640

159. Flight testing of the BMW 003 A-0 turbojet had begun in 1943 using Ju 88 test-beds both at E-Stelle E-3 at Rechlin and at the BMW TL-Erprobungsgruppe at BMW's facility at Berlin-Aldershot. In January 1944, BMW's turbojet testing was transferred to Oranienburg where it seems to have become integrated with theVersuchsverbande der Ob.dL.. Of the Ju 88's known to have tested the BMW 003, DH+JX, TH+GE W.Nr. 3255, DG+FR W.Nr. 5077, DH+AG W.Nr. 7143, it was Ju 88 RG+RW W.Nr. 430827 [Horn, p. 302, gives W.Nr. 430857] that was first given the kennzeichen T9+MH then T9+EL, according to a post in TOCH by Peter Achs on 19 Nov. 2009. This unit was headed by a civilian engineer, Flugbaumeister Peter Kappus, who realized that Arado's Ar 234 Berta would be a better test-bed for the turbo.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1641

160. Two Berta prototypes were set aside as test-beds for the BMW 003, both using twin engines. The V15 (W.Nr. 130025; "PH+SW") was first flown by Janssen at Alt Lonnewitz on 20 July 1944, 17:34-17:51 hours. On 8 August, Janssen transferred it to Oranienburg where it was given the kenn "T9+HL" and was mainly flown by Hptm. Josef Bisping of 3./VV-OKL until November. In December, it was handed over to Kappus who flew it on 10 December 12:00-12:38 hours at Oranienburg. In January-February 1945, Kappus moved hisSonderkommando from "O-Burg" to Burg bei Magdeburg transferring the V15 on 15 February 17:00-17:20 hours. With the bombing of Burg bei Magdeburg on April 10, the V15 was unserviceable and could not be evacuated. It was blown up there by German troops on 4 May 1945.
This is the only picture of V15 that I have found so far.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1642

161. The V17 (W.Nr. 130027; "PH+SY") was first flown by Janssen at Sagan-Küpper on 25 September 1944 17:16-17:30 hours. On 7 November, St.Fw. Rudolf Seefeld of 1./VV-OKL transferred V17 from Sagan-Küpper to Oranienburg and it was coded "T9+LL". Kappus first flew V17 at "O-Burg" on 22 November 10:25-11:00 hrs.
Ordered to transfer his unit to Burg bei Magdeburg, on 30 January 1945, Kappus flew "T9+LL" there, 15:25-15:50 hours.
Probably due to overcrowding at Burg bei Magdeburg, Kappus was ordered to move what was now called Erprobungstelle BMW to Neubiberg in Bavaria. On 7 April 1945, Kappus flew "T9+LL" from Burg to Lechfeld, 18:00-19:18 hours. On the 12th April, he completed the flight to Neubiberg, 18:25-1855 hours. On 1 May, as American forces approached Neubiberg, V17 was blown up by German personnel.


http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1643

162. From Smith & Creek, Ar 234 Blitz, (Classic, 2022), p. 163, Peter Kappus is quoted as saying:
"Subsequently, I made a number of other test flights in Ar 234 V15 and V17, most of them aimed at investigating the flameout behaviour of the BMW 003 at Altitude, and a new Junkers control system that was supposed to enable us to burn the more readily available J2 heavy oil fuel instead of B4 white gasoline for which the engine was designed. J2 was a very heavy paraffin fuel of better availability. Starting was very difficult with J2 and we usually began with B4, carried in one of the two tanks in the Ar 234, and switched to J2 in flight, when the engine was hot ... ."