PROTOTYPEPROTOTYPE VICKERS TYPE 432ARADO Ar 240
Above
The Ar 240A-02, Wk
Nr 240012, was the
second Ar 240A-series
development aircraft and
coded GL+QB. It was used
for trials and test work,
and here it’s seen in the
service of 3.(F)/ObdL on
the Eastern Front, during
reconnaissance proving
and actual frontline
missions. MALCOLM V LOWE
COLLECTIONBelow
Photographed in typical
winter Eastern Front
conditions, an Ar 240
(sometimes referred
to as the Ar 240A-01
development aircraft),
carried ‘YP’ as the last
two letters of its fuselage
code. It is presumed this
was prefi xed with ‘T5’
or ‘T9’ during service
with 3.(F)/ObdL, a
recce unit attached to
the Luftwaffe’s upper
command structure,
whose emblem it wore
on the forward fuselage.
MALCOLM V LOWE COLLECTIONin a force-landing on January 24,- Seemingly, it was repaired
and served at least one other unit.
Initially, Ar 240A-03 coded
DI+CY was different in having
four-bladed propellers and two
BMW 801 radial engines, with
improved stability and handling
in the air. It seems these engines
were changed to DB 603s, and
the aircraft was modified for high-
altitude recce missions, being
assigned to 2.(F)/122 in Italy
for operational testing in July-
August 1943. The aircraft flew
just one mission before crashing
at Frosinone, south of Rome,
where its remains were found by
Allied troops the following year.
It was replaced by Ar 240A-04
coded DI+CZ, but it too was
involved in an accident, and after
being repaired was flown back to
Germany. The final prototype was
Ar 240A-05, which was probably
used purely for high-altitude recce
flights over the Soviet Union,
most likely with 3.(F)/100. It’s
believed this aircraft was then
assigned to 3./Versuchsverband
Oberkommando der Luftwaffe and
in early 1944 carried out flights
over Britain.
BEGINNING OF THE END
Oberleutnant Horst Götz was an
experienced pilot, having flown
pathfinder missions in Heinkel
He 111s with Kampfgruppe 100
from the start of the war. Due
to his flying prowess, he carried
out many operational trials of
various aircraft types, and of
operations with the Ar 240 he
recalled: “My first flight with
the Ar 240 was from Orly near
Paris on January 5, 1944. My
first operational reconnaissance
flight was to Brighton, England,
on February 10, 1944 but due to
10/10ths cloud I saw nothing.
Next it was over Plymouth on
February 12, 1944; I took off from
Orly, landed at Saint-Brieuc in
Western France but the mission
was broken off due to the presence
of fighters. February 15, 1944
was Orly to Chatham. Clear skies,
and one trick I used was to follow
condensation trails of American
bombers returning to England. I
tried to do this on every Ar 240
[flight] over the UK. The mission
was London on February 24, 1944.
Despite having a pressurised cabin,
I could only get to 10,000m with a
speed of 700km/h. In March 1944,I carried out operations over Anzio
flying from Orly.”
In Götz’s opinion, the Ar 240
lacked the performance necessary
for recce operations over well-
defended areas. His last flight in
an Ar 240, before he went on to
operationally prove the Ar 234 jet
bomber and recce aircraft, was a
high-altitude test flight in Germany
on June 27, 1944. By this time the
Ar 240 T9+GL (which he’d flown
over Britain) was probably assigned
to 1.(F)/100, and had crash-
landed in East Prussia in March
1944 while being piloted by Oblt
Wolfgang Loah. Its subsequent fate
is undocumented.
By then, it was clear that after
four years’ development, the Ar
240 was no longer fit for purpose...
especially with other more modern
and advanced aircraft, particularly
jet-powered machines, coming
into service. Planning for the Ar
240C/D/E/F variants ceased, as
did development of the Ar 440.
The latter was essentially the same
as the Ar 240C, but apparently had
a lengthened fuselage and more
powerful engines. Despite being
successfully test flown in early
1943 by Knight’s Cross holder
Hptm Werner Thierfelder (who
went on to prepare the Me 262
for combat operations), it wasn’t
developed any further. One
airframe was believed to have been
evaluated by the Royal Aircraft
Establishment at Farnborough
in September 1945, but there
are no preserved examples today
and very few photographs of this
little-known aircraft...which never
achieved its true potential.