The Arado Ar E.555 was a proposed jet bomber design that was conceived as part of Nazi Germany’s “Amerika Bomber” (America Bomber) project. The intention was to design an aircraft that was capable of performing a transatlantic flight to bomb targets in the United States before returning to a Luftwaffe base in Germany or occupied Europe.
Arado had begun brainstorming designs long a long-range jet bomber before the Amerika Bomber proposal and had developed the short-range Ar 234 bomber in 1943 powered by turbojet engines.
The German Air Ministry asked Arado to continue developing this concept into a long-range aircraft. Arado initially sought for their new plane to follow the flying wing concept, in which the cockpit, crew areas, engines and bomb bay were essentially built into one giant wing that would be delta shaped. The E.555’s design drawings continued evolving until they reached a more conventional shape.
Despite the potential the various designs showed, the German Air Ministry ordered the project’s termination in December 1944. The project’s timing and limited use as a bomber perhaps represented its main weakness despite its futuristic and innovative ideas.
Origins
The E.555 project originated following an aircraft specification call from the German Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Ministry of Aviation, RLM) issued in 1942. The specification called asked for the development of an ultra-long-range Luftwaffe bomber that could perform bombing missions against strategic targets and cities in the United States. Nazi military officials termed the collective proposal as the “Amerika Bomber” project.
The request was issued to various aircraft manufacturers in Germany for design ideas. Arado had already been looking into developing long-range bomber designs before the proposal, including a flying wing concept.
Other manufacturers such as Heinkel, Messerschmitt and Focke Wulf began working on their own designs. Some of the proposed ideas were bigger versions of existing piston engine concepts.
Before the proposal, Arado had established themselves as a known maker of seaplanes and pilot-training aircraft for military and commercial use within Germany. As the war progressed, the company began working on their own jet concepts, including the Arado Ar 234 developed in 1943 which was the world’s first functional turbojet-powered bomber.
The Ar 234 was designed to perform shorter-range sorties over Europe and Arado sought to take the basic concept and work on creating a long-range aircraft which would feature their flying wing idea. The company held discussions with the RLM in 1944 who gave the go-ahead for the company to pursue development into a jet-powered aircraft that could fly at a high altitude, possess a longer range than the Ar 234 and reach the United States.
Development of the E.555
Arado began to develop and draft different versions of their Ar E.555 from 1943 onwards, with the first version being based on their flying delta wing research.
The design team believed that the delta wing concept would allow for more stability in flight and a larger weapons payload and bomb bay to be built under the wing space.
The new bomber was planned to be built using all metal skin on the exterior constructed around the delta shape and this was to consist of a special Duraluminum metal known for its extremely light properties. The first design proposed that two large vertical fins were to be fitted to the rear end of the fuselage and the fuselage itself would be built in a forward, gull-wing-like shape within the giant delta wing.
The first proposed design would also carry an aircrew of between two to three and a weapons payload of up to 13,000 pounds worth of bombs in a large bomb bay beneath the fuselage. The E.555 was also to have a tricycle landing system, with one undercarriage in the nose with the wheels fitted side by side and the other two in the wings.
The cockpit would also be pressurized to allow for high-altitude flight and was covered by a large glass canopy to provide good visibility.