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Arado Ar TEW 16/43-19

1943 SECRET WEAPONS OF THE LUFTWAFFE WORLD WAR 2 X-PLANE

History

With the development of the advanced twin-engine jet Ar 234 "Blitzkrieg" bomber, Arado turned its attention to a more advanced multi-role jet. The TEW 16/43-19 will be produced in five different versions, each with a specific purpose but using the same basic airframe for cost savings, consisting of a "Schnell" high-speed bomber and a "Zerstorer" destroyer. , night fighter "Nachtjager", severe weather fighter "Severe Weather Fighter" and reconnaissance platform "Aufklarer".

While the TEW 16/43-19 study was promising (at least on paper), the development and arrival of the equally promising Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter and Ar 234 bomber meant that multi-role designs were no longer needed there. Thus, the TEW 16/43-19 went down in history as one of many German "paper" aircraft.

The design of the TEW 16/43-19 is clearly Arado, and even inherits most of the look and layout from the previous Arado Ar 234. The pressurized cockpit is located at the very forward end of the elongated cylindrical fuselage. There are two crew members sitting back to back under the glass canopy.

Wings are mid-mounted monoplane components that are swept back at a greater angle along the leading edge. The trailing edge is also swept back, but to a much lesser extent. The wings have a large surface area and are slightly tapered to a truncated wingtip. Each wing will house a 3,000-pound turbojet, the make and model of which is unknown, in a streamlined underwing nacelle. As a whole, the wings are positioned forward amidships, concentrating most of the aircraft's weight at the front of the design.

The fuselage tapers to a tapered tip at the very end of the layout, and will itself house three large internal fuel tanks to fuel the hungry jet engines. The rear wing is conventional, featuring a vertical rear wing with rounded edges and two concave horizontal planes attached to the bottom of the rear wing. Both the main and rear wings exhibit some degree of dihedral (upward angle) when viewed from the front or rear.

The landing gear should be three-wheeled, using two large single-wheel main legs and a single-wheel nose landing gear leg. All are fully retractable, with the main legs folded forward into the wings and the nasal bones folded back and under the cockpit floor.

The armament of the TEW 16/43-19 varies by model. The high-speed "Fast Bomber" will be equipped with a pair of rear-firing remote-controlled MK 213 series cannons to protect the "six". The bomb load is 5,512 pounds, transported as external storage.

In addition to conventional ordnance, the high-speed bomber version is also intended to carry Fritz X-series wire-guided missiles.

The "Zerstorer" (Zerstorer) model carries a battery pack of three 30mm MK 103 series guns and a pair of MK 213 guns in a belly bag. This will be complemented by another pair of MK 213 guns on either side of the hull. All equipment will be installed to fire forward.

In addition, the destroyer will have a pair of MK 213 guns mounted in a rearward remote-controlled position on the stern. Bomb load will be reduced by 2,205 pounds of external storage as needed.

The "Nachtjager" for night operations will be armed with a pair of forward-firing MK 108 30mm cannons, and 3 belly-mounted MK 213 cannons. Additional 2 x MK 213 guns will be mounted on the sides of the hull, while batteries of 2 x MK 108 30mm guns will be set in the upper hull to fire at oblique angles. The stern will be protected by a pair of remote-controlled MK 213 guns.

Due to night operations, a third crew member will accompany the crew and his position is in the rear of the fuselage, just behind the three large internal fuel tanks. The radar will be built into a specially designed nose extension.

In terms of size, the Arado Ar TEW 16/43-19 has a wingspan of up to 53 feet 2 inches and a surface area of ??501.6 feet. Body length is 59 feet and 1 inch. Height is approximately 9 feet 10 inches. The vehicle is designed to have a maximum weight of 35,274 pounds.