{"product_id":"plastic-model-aircraft-kit-lindberg-70516-arado-ar-234b-blitz-1-72","title":"Plastic model aircraft kit Lindberg 70516 Arado Ar 234B Blitz — 1:72","description":"\u003cp\u003eKit type: Injection-moulded plastic aircraft kit\n\u003cbr\u003eParts: 31\n\u003cbr\u003eConstruction: Glue assembly\n\u003cbr\u003ePlastic: White plastic with clear parts\n\u003cbr\u003eDecals: Waterslide decals\n\u003cbr\u003ePilot figure: Included\n\u003cbr\u003eSkill level: 2\n\u003cbr\u003eManufacturer and kit history\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLindberg is one of the historic American plastic-model brands, with a catalogue extending across aircraft, automobiles, ships and military subjects. The Ar 234 has a particularly long history in Lindberg's range. Earlier Lindberg releases of the aircraft date back to the 1960s, making this a kit subject with considerably more history than the current packaging might suggest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA contemporary modelling reference identifies the original Lindberg Ar 234 as a 1:72 kit dating from 1966, while another historical catalogue records the Lindberg Ar 234 among its 1:72 aircraft offerings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe original Lindberg tooling was one of the earliest injection-moulded Ar 234 kits available. A modelling review notes that before later releases from manufacturers such as Frog, Dragon and Hasegawa, the Lindberg kit was one of the few injection-moulded choices for the aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 70516 barcode release is therefore best regarded as a later Lindberg packaging\/reissue of a historically old kit rather than a completely new-generation Ar 234 tooling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe current retailer description gives the kit 31 parts, making it a relatively simple build by modern 1:72 standards. It includes the principal aircraft components, clear parts, a pilot, decals and the parts necessary to assemble the aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne particularly useful point for collectors is that the barcode and kit number provide a way of distinguishing this release from earlier Lindberg Ar 234 boxings. Older Lindberg references also appear under numbers such as 439-50 and 472, depending upon the particular packaging\/catalogue era.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe aircraft — Arado Ar 234 Blitz\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe full-size aircraft was the Arado Ar 234 Blitz, with Blitz meaning “Lightning.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was designed by Arado Flugzeugwerke in Germany during the Second World War and became the world's first operational jet bomber. It was also an extremely important reconnaissance aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft originated from a 1940 German Air Ministry requirement for a high-speed jet reconnaissance aircraft. Arado was the only company to submit a proposal, designated E.370. The design was developed under Walter Blume's direction, with Rüdiger Kosin leading the technical design work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe proposed aircraft was radically different from the piston-engine reconnaissance aircraft then dominating military aviation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt had:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    a clean, high-mounted swept-ish wing\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    two turbojet engines mounted in under-wing nacelles\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    a single-seat cockpit\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    tricycle landing gear on the B-series\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    a slender fuselage\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    provision for reconnaissance cameras\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    exceptionally high speed for its era\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe prototype programme was delayed largely by the availability of suitable jet engines. The first prototype eventually flew in July 1943. The National Air and Space Museum records the first flight of the revised prototype as part of the development leading to the operational B-series.\n\u003cbr\u003eFrom reconnaissance aircraft to bomber\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe original concept was primarily a fast reconnaissance aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe speed was its greatest weapon. Rather than relying upon defensive guns or fighter escort, the Ar 234 was designed to get into enemy territory, photograph its target and get away before enemy fighters could intercept it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis proved extremely effective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe first operational reconnaissance mission was flown on 2 August 1944, when Luftwaffe pilot Erich Sommer flew an Ar 234 over the Allied beachhead in Normandy. The aircraft's speed made interception extremely difficult. The Smithsonian records that Sommer's approximately two-hour reconnaissance flight produced valuable intelligence while encountering no opposition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was subsequently developed into the Ar 234B, which added bombing capability.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe B-series became the principal production version.\n\u003cbr\u003eAr 234B-2 bomber\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe B-2 is the version most closely associated with the operational bomber role.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUnlike a conventional bomber, the Ar 234 did not have a large internal bomb bay. Its narrow fuselage was dictated by the high-speed aerodynamic design, so bombs were carried externally.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA typical mission could involve a single 500 kg bomb carried beneath the fuselage, although other combinations were possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis created an interesting compromise: the aircraft was extremely fast when clean, but external bombs and equipment reduced its performance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Smithsonian describes the B-2 as a single-seat, twin-engine jet bomber and notes that it could carry a 500 kg bomb during its operational missions.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe world's first operational jet bomber\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe distinction is important.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSeveral jet aircraft had flown before the Ar 234, and the Messerschmitt Me 262 became the world's first operational jet fighter. But the Ar 234 was the first operational jet bomber.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt entered service during the closing stages of the war, at a point when Germany's strategic situation had already deteriorated severely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe first bomber operations were conducted by KG 76 (Kampfgeschwader 76) beginning in December 1944. The aircraft participated in operations associated with the Ardennes Offensive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe typical bombing mission was not a massed strategic-bomber attack. Instead, small numbers of Ar 234s made rapid attacks against important targets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Smithsonian notes that missions frequently involved fewer than 20 aircraft, with individual aircraft carrying a 500 kg bomb.\n\u003cbr\u003eAttacks around Remagen\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the aircraft's best-known operational episodes occurred during the Allied crossing of the Rhine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn March 1945, Ar 234 bombers of KG 76 attempted to attack the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, which the Allies had captured intact.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Arados' speed made them difficult targets, but the aircraft were operating in increasingly desperate circumstances.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFuel shortages, lack of spare parts, deteriorating airfields and Allied air superiority severely restricted operations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Smithsonian records that KG 76 participated in attacks against the bridge but failed to destroy it and suffered losses to anti-aircraft fire.\n\u003cbr\u003ePerformance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Ar 234 was remarkably fast for 1944–45.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe surviving Smithsonian aircraft has the following documented specifications:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Crew: 1\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engines: 2 × Junkers Jumo 004B turbojets\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maximum speed: approximately 735 km\/h \/ 459 mph\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Length: 12.6 m\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wingspan: 14.4 m\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Height: 4.3 m\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Empty weight: approximately 4,900 kg\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Gross weight: approximately 10,010 kg with RATO equipment\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Jumo 004 was itself a pioneering engine but had significant reliability and service-life limitations. The Ar 234 consequently combined advanced aerodynamics with an immature propulsion system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis was characteristic of many late-war German jets: technologically sophisticated, but entering service under enormous industrial and logistical constraints.\n\u003cbr\u003eRocket-assisted take-off\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the most distinctive features associated with the Ar 234B was its use of RATO — rocket-assisted take-off equipment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe jet engines produced relatively poor thrust at low speeds, and a fully loaded aircraft needed assistance from short-duration rocket units in some circumstances.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe rockets provided additional thrust during take-off and were then discarded.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe surviving Smithsonian Ar 234 is displayed with its RATO equipment, and the museum describes the aircraft as a single-seat twin-engine jet bomber with rocket-assisted take-off units.\n\u003cbr\u003eProduction\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Ar 234 was never produced in anything approaching the numbers originally envisaged.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Smithsonian records that the German Air Ministry ordered 200 Ar 234 Bs, with production taking place at the new factory at Alt Lönnewitz in Saxony. The factory completed the original 200-aircraft order by the end of December 1944 and produced another 20 before the end of the war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis gives a commonly cited total of approximately 214 Ar 234 aircraft of all versions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eProduction ran from 1944 to 1945, and the short production run was severely constrained by shortages of engines and other strategic materials.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOnly a tiny fraction therefore ever became operational.\n\u003cbr\u003eOther versions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe B-series was not the end of Arado's development programme.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Germans also developed the Ar 234C, which used four BMW 003 engines rather than two Jumo 004s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe four-engine arrangement was intended to improve performance and provide an alternative powerplant configuration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOnly a small number of Ar 234Cs were completed before the end of the war. The Smithsonian records 14 Ar 234 C aircraft leaving the Arado factory before Soviet forces overran the area.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere were also proposals for:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    night fighters\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    two-seat aircraft\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    improved reconnaissance versions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    further bomber variants\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    the projected Ar 234D\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThese later developments were overtaken by the collapse of Germany in 1945.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe final Luftwaffe jet operations\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Ar 234 was still flying combat missions during the final weeks of the war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was used primarily for reconnaissance, because its speed made it exceptionally difficult for Allied piston-engine fighters to intercept.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was also reportedly among the last Luftwaffe aircraft to fly over Britain during the war, illustrating just how late the type remained operational.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, by spring 1945 Germany was suffering from catastrophic shortages of aviation fuel. Even the technically advanced Ar 234 could not overcome a lack of fuel, trained crews, serviceable engines and functioning airfields.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft therefore never had the opportunity to demonstrate its full potential.\n\u003cbr\u003eThe surviving Ar 234\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the most remarkable part of the Ar 234's history is that one complete aircraft survives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe surviving aircraft is Ar 234 B-2 Werknummer 140312, now preserved at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIts history is unusually well documented.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt served with KG 76 from December 1944 until May 1945, when British forces captured it in Norway.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was subsequently transferred to the United States and taken to Wright Field, Ohio, in 1946, where American personnel evaluated it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was eventually transferred to the Smithsonian in 1949.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft underwent restoration between 1984 and 1989, and it remains the sole surviving Arado Ar 234.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis makes the Smithsonian aircraft particularly important for anyone interested in the Lindberg kit: it is effectively the definitive surviving reference for the B-2 configuration.\n\u003cbr\u003eKit significance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Lindberg Ar 234 is historically interesting as a model kit because it predates most of the highly detailed modern 1:72 Ar 234s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA review of the modelling history notes that the original Lindberg kit was available in the 1960s, followed later by kits from Frog and other manufacturers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe original tooling is therefore vintage by modern standards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA modern modeller shouldn't expect the precision or surface detail of a contemporary Dragon, Hasegawa or newer-tool manufacturer. On the other hand, the Lindberg kit has genuine historical value as one of the earliest injection-moulded representations of one of the most significant German jet aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe current 70516 package contains only 31 parts, reinforcing its status as a relatively simple vintage-tooling build rather than a modern multi-sprue super-detailed kit.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lindberg","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57509849465212,"sku":"Lindberg-70516","price":22.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/plastic-model-aircraft-kit-lindberg-70516-arado-ar-234b-blitz-1-72","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}