E 370

Draft proposal submitted to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) for a fast jet reconnaissance bomber.

Ar 234 V1 to V5

Initial prototypes of the Ar 234A with skid landing gear, take-off tricycle gear trolley with trio of retractable landing skids, and 2 x Jumo 004 engines.

Ar 234 V6 & V8

Prototypes for four-engined designs for the Ar 234, meant to use the alternative choice of the lower-thrust BMW 003 turbojet engines while retaining the A model skid/trolley undercarriage. The V6 was fitted with the quartet of BMW 003s in individual nacelles, unlike the V8 prototype which had the BMW jet engines in a pair of "twinned" nacelles, and essentially "prototyped" what would become the four-engined Ar 234C's engine installation.

Ar 234 V7

Development aircraft for the Ar 234B production aircraft, retaining the A-series' intended skid undercarriage, and saw active service.

Ar 234 V9 to V11

Representative prototypes of the Ar 234B production aircraft, with the V9 being the first retractable tricycle-geared airframe.

Ar 234 V13 & V20

A pair of B-series prototypes fitted with quartets of the BMW 109-003 engines for the C-series aircraft, using the V8 prototype's "twinned" nacelle design, without the V8 example's retractable wing-skids.

Ar 234 V15

A single B-series airframe fitted with 2 x BMW 003 engines for engine development testing, and rumored to have been considered for new wing planform tests.

Ar 234 V16

Intended to be fitted with an experimental crescent wing with sweep back lessening towards the tips, evolved by Rüdiger Kosin and Walther Lehmann. The wing was constructed but was destroyed before it could be fitted.

Ar 234 V21 to V30

C-series development aircraft. V26 and V30 had experimental thick section wooden and thin section metal laminar flow wings.

Ar 234 A

The first proposed production reconnaissance bomber fitted with skid undercarriage and take-off tricycle gear trolley, built only as the series of eight trolley-and-skid undercarriage V1 through V8 prototypes.

Ar 234 B-0

20 pre-production aircraft.

Ar 234 B-1

Reconnaissance version, equipped with two Rb 50/30 or Rb 75/30 cameras. No serial production, all reconnaissance variants were converted from B-2 aircraft with Rüstsatz b.

Ar 234 B-2

Bomber version, with a maximum bombload of 1,500 kg (3,307 lb).

Ar 234 B-2/N

Night fighter version, two aircraft converted from B-2.

Ar 234 C-1

Four-engined aircraft – all C-series Ar 234s powered with a quartet of BMW 003 jet engines – as installed on the Ar 234 V8 prototype, otherwise similar to the Ar 234 B-1.

Ar 234 C-2

Four-engined aircraft similar to the Ar 234 B-2.

Ar 234 C-3

Multi-purpose version, armed with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons beneath the nose.

Ar 234 C-3/N

Proposed two-seat night fighter version, armed with two forward-firing 20 mm MG 151/20 and two 30 mm MK 108 cannons, fitted with a mid-VHF band FuG 218 Neptun V radar.

Ar 234 C-4

Armed reconnaissance version, fitted with two cameras, armed with four 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon.

Ar 234 C-5

Proposed version with side-by-side seating for the crew. The 28th prototype was converted into this variant.

Ar 234 C-6

Proposed two-seat reconnaissance aircraft. The 29th prototype was converted into this variant.

Ar 234 C-7

Night fighter version, with side-by-side seating for the crew, fitted with an enhanced FuG 245 Bremen O cavity magnetron-based centimetric (30 GHz) radar.

Ar 234 C-8

Proposed single-seat bomber version, powered by two 1,080 kg (2,380 lb) Jumo 004D turbojet engines.

Ar 234 D-1

Proposed reconnaissance version. Not built.

Ar 234 D-2

Proposed bomber version. Not built.

Ar 234 P-1

Two-seater with four BMW 003A-1 engines; one 20 mm MG 151/20 and one 30 mm MK 108.

Ar 234 P-2

Also a two-seater, with redesigned cockpit protected by a 13 mm armour plate.

Ar 234 P-3

HeS 011A powered P-2, but with two cannon.

Ar 234P-4

as P-3 but with Jumo 004D engines.

Ar 234P-5

Three-seat version with HeS 011A engines, one 20 mm MG 151/20 and four 30 mm MK 108 cannon.

Ar 234 R

Rocket-powered short range high-altitude reconnaissance version. It had a rocket engine in its tail, while the turbojets had been discarded. It would be towed by a He 177 to 8 km altitude after which it would propel itself to 17 km altitude over the target after which it would glide back unpowered. Project only.

Sources:
Gunston, Bill - The Encyclodepia of the Worlds Combat aircraft, 1976, Chartwell Books, Inc., New York
Brown, Eric, Captain - Wings of the Luftwaffe, 1979, Airlife Publishing Ltd., Shrewsbury
Gunston, Bill & Wood, Tony - Hitler's Luftwaffe, 1977, Salamander Books Ltd., London
Donald, David - The Complete Encyclopedia Of World Aircraft, 1997, Brown Packaging Books Ltd., London
Wikipedia - Arado Ar 234