MAQUETTE À MONTER - Arado Ar 231 V-1 MPM Production | N° 48047 | 1:48 **LIKE NEW INSIDE UNOPENED**
Prix régulier 25,00 € TTC 6%
Characteristics
| Condition | Like New Inside Unopened - Intérieur non ouvert |
| Scale | 1/48 |
| Manufacturer | MPM |
| Size of the box | 30 x 20 x 4 cm |
| EAN |
Description
Before the WW II consideration had been given to the design of a small aircraft which could operate from a U-Boat. It was realized that during wartime such an aircraft could provide reconnaissance reports of the position of enemy convoys and warships. This speculation was to culminate in 1940 in the issuing of a specification to the Arado-Flugzeugwerke GmbH for the construction of such an aircraft. The prototype was designated Ar 231 and it came to be folded back on top of each other and the floats could be raised on either side of the fuselage. It was planned that during operation the Ar 231 would be lowered over the side of the submarine by means of a folding crane, the process taking some six minutes. Six prototypes were completed during 1941, designated Ar 231V1 to V6, all being powered by the 160 hp Hirth HM501 six-cylinder inverted inline air cooled engine. Trials showed that the aircraft was extremely difficult to handle when afloat and the parent U-Boat would have to stay on the surface for some 10 minutes in order to recover the Ar 231, rendering the vessel extremely vulnerable to attack. Early 1942 the whole Ar 231 programme was abandoned in favour of the more sophisticated Focke Achgelis Fa 330. Technical specifications: Span 10,18 m (33 ft 4½ in). Length 7,81 m (25 ft 7½ in). Max. speed at sea level 170 km/h (106 mph). Service ceiling 3000 m (9843 ft). Normal range 500 km (310 miles).
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