Arado Ar 95
1937 reconnaissance floatplane by Arado / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Arado Ar 95 was a single-engine reconnaissance and patrol biplane designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado.
Ar 95 | |
---|---|
Role | Reconnaissance biplane |
Manufacturer | Arado |
First flight | 3 December 1936 |
Primary users | Chile Kriegsmarine |
Number built | 42 |
Variants | Arado Ar 195 |
During the mid 1930s, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM/German Aviation Ministry) sought a replacement for the Heinkel He 60 floatplanes operated by the Kriegsmarine (German Navy). Arado opted to design the Ar 95 with the intention of fulfilling this requirement. While the competing Heinkel He 114 was selected, the RLM encouraged the company to continue work on the aircraft. Furthermore, six aircraft were dispatched overseas with the Legion Condor and thus saw action during the Spanish Civil War. The Ar 95 also selected as the basis for the Ar 195 carrier-based torpedo bomber intended for the Kriegsmarine's future aircraft carriers.
Opting to focus on export opportunities for the aircraft, Arado produced two distinct versions, the Ar 95W floatplane and the Ar 95L landplane, which had a fixed undercarriage. The company was able to secure orders from both Chile and Turkey. However, the latter would not receive their Ar 95s as a consequence of the outbreak of the Second World War; instead, they were taken over by the Kriegsmarine and used as trainers and coastal patrol aircraft off the coast of Latvia and Estonia as well as in the Gulf of Finland. Despite being built in relative low numbers, German Ar 95s continued to be operated up until late 1944. Spain continued to operate at least one of its Ar 95s as late as 1948.