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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Aircraft More Aircraft Initials A to D  Ar196 |
[UP] - Aichi - Airacobra - Albacore - Anson - Ar196 - Ar234 - Avenger - Barracuda - Battle - Beaufort - Betty - Bisley - Black Widow - Blenheim - Bombay - Boston - BRE693 - Buffalo - Bv222 - Bv238 - Cant Z.506B - Catalina - Corsair - D520 - Dakota - Dauntless - DB-3 - Defiant - Devastator - Do17 - Do24 - Do335 - Do435 - Do525 - Dominator - Duck |
| Ar196 Aviation Prints |
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| Text for the above items : |
Eyes of the Fleet by Simon Atack. Arado Ar196 of the German battleship Graf Spee. |
Battleship Bismarck by Simon Atack. With her raked bow proudly slicing through the morning swell of Norwegian waters, the mighty 41,000 ton battleship Bismarck leads her consort, the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, with destroyers Z10, Z16 and Z23 among her escorts, into the approaches to Korsfjord near Bergen, at 0800hrs on 21st May 1941. Aboard, Bismarck's captain Ernst Lindemann was plotting a voyage that was to result in one of the greatest epics in the annals of naval warfare. As they steam towards Grimstadtfjord, an Arado Ar196A-2 floatplane gives a fly-by salute to the flotilla, this aircraft serving with I./Bordfliegerstaffel 195 which, together with 5./196 was responsible for providing aircraft for German naval vessels. Operated by Luftwaffe crews, and affectionately known as Eyes of the Fleet, the Arado 196 was specially designed for shipboard operation - with an airframe sturdy enought to withstand the rigours of catapult launching it was a highly effective armed Recce aircraft. Bismarck carried no fewer than four Arado 196 floatplanes, one always at readiness on the catapult, with three hangared aft of the funnel. As she sailed, a reconnaissance Spitfire had spotted Bismarcks movements and the British Home Fleet were alerted. The old battlecruiser Hood and new battleship Prince of Wales were despatched north-west from Scapa Flow to join the cruisers Norfolk and Suffolk in the Denmark Strait for a possible interception. And the rest is history: as Bismarck entered the Denmark Strait the two forces met. Hood, pride of the Royal Navy, received a direct hit in the ammunition magazine by a shell from Bismarck and sank so quickly that only three of her crew survived. Stunned by such severe loss, Churchill ordered the Bismarck to be sunk at all cost. Hunted down by the Home Fleet, with her rudder damaged and unable to steer, Bismarck was reduced to a mass of twisted steel by British naval gunfire, finally rolling over and sinking at 10.45 in the morning of the 27th of May. Thus ended one of the most compelling sea chases in naval history. The magnificent German battleship Bismarck at the outset of her final voyage, just five days before her fateful encounter with the British Home Fleet in the north Atlantic, May 1941. |
Prinz Eugen by Ivan Berryman. The heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen slips quietly through the waters of Kiel Harbour as one of her own Arado Ar.196s flies overhead. In the background, Bismarck, wearing her Baltic camouflage, is alongside taking on supplies. |
| Ar196 Pilot and aircrew signature details |
| Ar196 Squadron details |
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