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

[Karoband]

Thank you, Nick.

Andy, you are correct. They added "probably following its 18th flight," which addled my brain.

Thank you both for getting it accurate.

Jim

[egbert]

Jim, keep them coming please

[Karoband]

Hi Egbert,

I suspect I will run out of material around mid-September.


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88. By late 1943, with Hitler insisting on a fast blitz bomber to crush, as at Dieppe, the expected invasion at a French port, Arado redesigned the Ar 234 to have a conventional tricycle undercarriage and to carry bombs ... the Berta.
The first Ar 234 B was the V9 (W.Nr. 130009; "PH+SQ") here seen unmarked, probably in RLM 70/71 splinter camouflage (Creek & Forsyth, p. 28) upon delivery. Note the proposed bomb rack under the engine nacelle and the cable under the rear fuselage leading to the hatch containing the brake-chute. The V9 is readily identifiable in photographs as it lacks the cockpit periscope that Sommer found was needed operationally to see if the Jumo turbojets were leaving a tell-tale contrail. With the V10, the periscope became standard in every Berta.


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89. For the Arado B-2 bomber variant, Arado designed a recessed rack under the centre of the fuselage, between the main wheels, to carry a bomb upto 1000 kg.


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90. Also proposed was a configuration to carry three 250 kg. bombs, although I have never seen this type of nacelle rack on KG 76 Arados.

[Karoband]

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1568

As well, the V9 tested the concept for nacelle racks to carry auxiliary fuel tanks as Rowehl was asking that the Berta also be used as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft. Like the V5, but not the V7, the V9 seems originally to have been equipped with an ejection-seat: "Diese Flugzeuge werden mit Katapultsitzen ausgerüstet," as annotated in a 28.8.1944 document in Pawlas, pp. 4-5.


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92. Although Anton's like the V5 had these climbing features, a step ladder was easier to get to the cockpit. The Berta, however, lower to the ground, had the same handholds and footholds (including the extendable step seen here) that would allow the pilot to climb up the port side and "haul himself onto the top of the fuselage immediately aft of the cockpit," Creek & Forsyth, Blitz Bombers, (Chandos, 2020), p.29, Also note the forked tow-bar that could more quickly hook up a Berta and tow it to the safely of a revement.


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93. "Cette vue de la moite arriere de l'Ar 234 V9 nous expose clairement la disposition du cable du parachute-frein de l'avion. En arriere-plan le queue de l'Ar 234 V1, W.Nr. 130010 Skz. PH+SR," Jean-Claude Mermet, Arado Ar 234 Blitz, (AeroJournal, 2016), p.18.
Ar 234 V9 first flew on 12 March 1944 piloted by Arado's Flugkapitän Ubbo Janssen. After serving as a test aircraft at Alt Lonnewitz and Rechlin, according to Smith & Creek, (Classic, 2022) p. 305 its last known flight was its 110th on 5 September 1944 (14:58-16:09 hrs. by Arado's new test pilot Otto Frach). However, on pp. 110-111 of the same source, Ludwig Dambach of BMW recounts how he damaged the V9 on landing when the main wheels did not deploy.

[Karoband]

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94. Because the General der Aufklärungflieger required a variant of the Berta that did not need all the ground equipment of the Anton, the Arado designers made simple modifications to the B-2 eliminating the recess in the fuselage for the bomb and installing two slightly oblique cameras in the rear fuselage. As long-range missions would require extra fuel in auxiliary tanks, fairings and racks were installed under the engine nacelles. This recce variant, according to Jan Horn, was designated Ar 234 B-2b.


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95. This picture and the one above are captioned on p. 117 of Smith & Creek, Ar 234 Blitz, (Classic, 2022) as:
"Above and below: After being completed as a bomber, it was proposed that the Ar 234 S12, GM+BL, would be transferred to Sagos Gm.b.H. (at Sagan-Küpper) on 21st August 1944 for conversion to a reconnaissance variant. After this was completed, the aircraft was handed over to Horst Gotz of Kommando Sperling on 22 September 1944 and this became the first B-series aircraft to be flown operationally. It was then remarked T9+GH."
Oblt. Horst Gotz was staffelkapitän of 1./Versuchsverband der OKL and the aircraft code "T9+GH" (white "9", black "G") was of that unit which was based at Oranienburg. On 27 September, 15:08 - 16:10 hrs., Gotz flew "T9+GH" to Kommando Sperling's operational base at Rheine, making the first op in a Berta the next day covering Paris-Riems-St. Quentin-Albert Canal, (Horn, Des Augen des OKW, Teil 1, (2020), p. 58-59. On 1 October 1944, Gotz was promoted to Hauptmann.


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96. From 2 to 7 October, Gotz personally flew four more ops in "T9+GH". From the leaves still visible on the deciduous trees, it is likely this photograph was taken in late September or early October 1944. The black "G" can be seen behind the balkenkreuz. Technicians are removing a film cassette from the aft camera compartment access hatch on top of the rear fuselage.

[Karoband]

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97. This accompanying photo shows the technician about to set the cassette onto a wheeled trolley, while another reaches into the forward camera compartment.


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98. This poor photo may be of Gotz's "T9+GH" landing at its base at Rheine. Kommando Sperling operated from there from 1 October 1944 to 7 February 1945 when it was absorbed by 1.(F)/123. With the death of that unit's staffelkapitän, Hptm. Hans Felde, on 11 February, Gotz replaced him on the 19th. However, in spite of the teletype order of 7 February for the aircraft of Kommando Sperling to adopt the verbandskennzeichen of 1.(F)/123, (Horn, Teil 1, p. 102), that unit continued to give in its strength reports the "T9" unit codes of the aircraft of Gotz, Muffey and Ziese.
Gotz's last feindflug in "T9+GH" took place on 6 April 1944, taking off from Reinsehlen at 13:16 hrs., covering Antwerp and landing at Lübeck-Blankensee. On 5 May, Gotz attempted to transfer "T9+GH" from Leck to Stavanger, Norway, but Horn, Teil 2, p. 92 reports it as "Bruch Bugrades beim Start." Therefore, at 08:00 hrs., it was blown up by German troops at Leck, (Horn, Teil 2, p. 82).

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Karoband

Arado designers made simple modifications to the B-2 eliminating the recess in the fuselage for the bomb

To clarify that point, when the Allies examined Ltn. Günther Gniesmer's T9+DH, W.Nr. 140142, in April 1945 they found that the ventral recess was faired over with plywood.

[Karoband]

Thank you, Nick, for this information.

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This picture can be found on p. 193 of Smith & Creek Arado 234 Blitz, (Monogram, 1992) and is captioned:
"The wreckage of Lt. Günther Gniesmer's aircraft, T9+DH, photographed by the Field Intelligence Party from the Mediterranean Air Force, south west of Bologna in Italy in April 1945."

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This picture is found on p. 194 and is captioned:
"Another view of Gniesmer's aircraft after it had been shot down by Mustangs from the US 52nd Fighter Group. The square aperture beneath the rear fuselage was the opening for one of the aircraft's Rb 75/30 cameras."

As can be seen, Gniesmer's Arado crashed inverted and broke into sections including the fuselage belly exposed intact above the wing in the first photo. The British would have been able to compare it to the B-2 bomber W.Nr. 140173 "F1+MT" already at Farnborough and noted the modifications.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Karoband

Thank you, Nick, for this information.

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/album....pictureid=1576

This picture can be found on p. 193 of Smith & Creek Arado 234 Blitz, (Monogram, 1992) and is captioned:
"The wreckage of Lt. Günther Gniesmer's aircraft, T9+DH, photographed by the Field Intelligence Party from the Mediterranean Air Force, south west of Bologna in Italy in April 1945."

The Arado was encountered in the air SW of Bologna but the wreck lay east of the city. It was found about 16 km NW of Alfonsine in the province of Ravenna. Some years ago the Romagna Air Finders were able to explore the site. I had supplied the map reference from the original report and they sent me a few of the small pieces of aluminium they discovered.

[Karoband]

That's a great correction! Thanks, Nick.

Jim