Editing Arado Ar 234 Blitz (section)

===Ar 234B===
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2021}}
At the request of the Ministry of Aviation, Arado also produced a pair of prototypes configured as [[Schnellbomber|fast bombers]], as the ''Ar 234B''. On 12 March 1944, the first of these, Ar 234 V9, performed its first flight. It was the first to feature a fully retractable [[Tricycle gear|tricycle landing gear]], with the main gear retracting forward into the mid-fuselage, and the nose gear retracted rearwards.<ref name = "forsythbeal 67">Forsyth and Beale 2020, pp. 6-7.</ref><ref name = "dorr 189">Dorr 2013, p. 189.</ref>

[[File:Arado AR 234 B Blitz.jpg|thumb|Restored Arado Ar 234 B-2 bomber]]
The Ar 234's slender fuselage was largely filled with fuel tanks, leaving no room for an internal [[bomb bay]], which was carried on external racks. The forward-set [[cockpit]] did not provide the pilot with any visibility to the rear, thus the rear firing guns it was fitted with were aimed through a [[periscope]], mounted on the cockpit roof. This periscope could also be flipped forwards for dive-bombing however, its usefulness was impaired by the scope's image being flipped upside down.<ref name = "forsythbeal 78">Forsyth and Beale 2020, pp. 7-8.</ref> The defensive fixed rear gun system was found to be useless by the pilots, and was omitted in the Ar 234B.<ref name = "bauduin 50">Bauduin 2014, p. 50.</ref> The aircraft was widened slightly at mid-fuselage and the central [[fuel tank]] was omitted to fit in the main landing gear, while enlarged forward ({{cvt|1800|L}}) and aft ({{cvt|2000|L}}) fuel tanks compensated for its removal.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wood|first1=Tony|last2=Gunston|first2=Bill|title=Hitler's Luftwaffe|year=1977|publisher= Salamander Books|location=London, UK|isbn=0517224771 |pages=128–129|url=https://archive.org/details/hitlersluftwaffe0000wood/page/128}}</ref> 

During flight testing, while carrying its maximum bombload of three [[SC 500 bomb]]s, the Ar 234 V9 could reach {{cvt|672|km/h}} at {{cvt|5000|m}},<ref>Griehl 2003, p. 169.</ref><ref name = "forsythbeal 8">Forsyth and Beale 2020, p. 8.</ref> faster than any other Luftwaffe bomber at the time. The normal bomb load consisted of a pair of {{cvt|500|kg}} bombs suspended from the engines or one large {{cvt|1000|kg}} bomb semi-recessed in the underside of the fuselage, while the maximum bombload was {{cvt|1500|kg}}. It could also carry the heavier [[List of World War II torpedoes of Germany#Bombentorpedoes|BT 1400]] ({{cvt|1510|kg}} unpowered bomb-torpedo), although the ground clearance was limited. If this munition was deployed, the aircraft's fuel capacity was noticeably reduced while rocket assistance was needed for takeoff.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} The pilot would engage the [[autopilot]] while using the bomb sight, which was interfaced with the autopilot to adjust the aircraft's flight path directly.<ref name = "bauduin 52">Bauduin 2014, p. 52.</ref>

Production lines were being set up while the 20 B-0 pre-production aircraft were being delivered, by the end of June. Production was slow, as Arado was to maintain production to compensate for other factories bombed during the [[USAAF]]'s "[[Big Week]]",(20-25 February 1944),<ref name = "bauduin 50"/> in addition to an ongoing license-construction of the [[Heinkel He 177]] heavy bomber.<ref>Griehl and Dressel 2004, p. 165.</ref> Between mid-1944 and the end of the conflict, only 210 aircraft were built.<ref name="Ford" /> During February 1945, production switched to the C variant. German plans were for production to reach 500 per month by November 1945.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}

[[File:Arado Ar 234B side-view silhouette.png|thumb|left|Ar 234B-2/N night fighter modification]]
In addition, some Ar 234 B-2 airframes were modified to serve as [[Night fighter|night fighters]].<ref>Smith and Creek 1982, p. 281.</ref> Designated Ar 234B-2/N and code named ''Nachtigall'' ([[Common nightingale|Nightingale]]), these were fitted with [[Neptun radar|FuG 218 "Neptun"]] VHF-band radar, with a reduced-[[Dipole antenna|dipole]] length version of the standard ''Hirschgeweih'' eight-dipole element, VHF-band transceiving air interception radar antenna system, and carried a pair of forward-firing 20mm [[MG 151 cannon|MG 151/20 autocannon]] within a ''Magirusbombe'' conformal [[gun pod]] on the rear fuselage hardpoint. The radar system was operated by a second crew member in a cramped compartment in the rear. Two of these served with ''Kommando Bonow'', a [[Luftflotte Reich]] experimental test unit. Operations began in March 1945, but the aircraft was unsuitable for night fighting and no kills were made.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}