WarSimBox
Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz, the in-game model
1944GermanyBomber

Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz

The Arado Ar 234 Blitz was the world’s first jet bomber to see combat. It had a single pilot and carried no defensive guns, relying on a speed that piston-engined fighters could not match. First as a reconnaissance aircraft, it photographed the Allied build-up in Normandy unopposed; at the end of the war it attacked the bridge at Remagen.

An aircraft that took off from a trolley

The first Ar 234s had no room for an undercarriage in the fuselage: the aircraft took off from a wheeled trolley that was dropped on take-off and landed on a skid under its fuselage. The production B version got a normal undercarriage. The pilot sat alone in the glazed nose; when bombing he switched on the autopilot and leaned over the bombsight.

Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz, side view
Arado Ar 234 B-2 Blitz: the in-game model from the side.

Untouchable reconnaissance and Remagen

In July and August 1944, Ar 234s photographed the Allied landing area in Normandy from high altitude at high speed, giving the German command, which had been unable to see the area for months, its first clear reconnaissance photographs. In March 1945, Ar 234 bombers tried to destroy the Rhine bridge the Allies had captured intact at Remagen.

In WarSimBox

In the game it is a jet bomber: it has a single pilot and no defensive guns, and escapes at a speed and altitude that piston aircraft cannot match. It carries up to 1,500 kg of bombs. The Jumo 004s respond slowly to the throttle, and it is vulnerable when slow.

Unlocked in the aircraft tree after researching Junkers Ju 88 A-4 and Axial-flow turbojet. Leads on to: Ilyushin Il-28.

Top speed
741 km/h · 9,500 m
Climb
14.6 m/s
Sustained turn
29.4 s
Stall speed
212 km/h

These figures come from the game’s flight model (climb, turn and stall at sea level).

Fly it in WarSimBox