"Emmanuel Gustin" wrote in message

"Bill Silvey" wrote in message
. com...

Why didn't it have an internal bomb-bay? It certainly looks like it
had the capacity. The only photos I've ever seen have it hauling
two bombs underwing...

The Ar 234 had not been designed as a bomber; the original
requirement was for a fast reconnaissance aircraft that could
cover the whole of Britain. German intelligence on events in
Britain was bad, as conventional reconnaissance aircraft could
not penetrate the strong air defences. (And because British
counter-espionage was very effective.) So the Arado E 370
design featured two cameras, 4000 liters of fuel and two jet
engines, in the smallest and most streamlined airframe that
could be designed. Even conventional landing gear was omitted
in favour of skis and a take-off trolley, to get more speed and
range. The Ar 234B had a slightly wider fuselage to accomodate
retracting main wheels, with a rearrangement of the fuel tanks.

The bomber version was an afterthought, so there was no bomb
bay. The camera bay was too far aft to be used for bombs. The
best Arado could do was semi-recessed carriage of bombs
under the fuselage and the engine pods. A substantially larger
fuselage would have been necessary to carry both bombs and
fuel internally.

Thanks, Emmanuel. I knew about the skis and whatnot; the info I had gleaned
from Discovery Wings seemed to imply it did have garner interest initially
as a bomber, *then* as a recon bird.

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