Arado E.654
The Arado Ar E.564 "Kampfzerstörer " (destroyer, or heavy fighter) project was conceived by by Arado's Chief Designer Dipl.-lng. Walter Blume. The fuselage was very similar to the Ar 240 (see below) in appearance and construction, except it was widened to facilitate the two Daimler Benz DB 614 or DB 627 engines which were mounted side-by-side and inclined 15 degrees.. These engines drove the two propellers mounted on the wing leading edges in small nacelles via a complicated and controversial method. Basically, right angle gear boxes and long drive shafts connected the propellers to the engines mounted in the fuselage. The advantages of this system was to minimize drag caused by larger engine nacelles on the wings and kept the engines in a more protected position within the fuselage.Unlike the Ar 240 , the E.654 used a single vertical fin and rudder with the tailplane set at the top of the fin. Handwritten notes from Walter Blume show, that he referred to the E.654 project by the name "Scorpion", because the high mounted tailplane, with a streamlined body at the junction with the vertical tail, resembled the sting of a scorpion. The wings were straight and exhibited taper on both the leading and trailing edges. A tricycle landing gear arrangement was chosen, with the main dual wheel gear retracting to the rear into the engine nacelles and a tail wheel that retracted into the fuselage. A crew of two (pilot and radio operator/gunner) sat back-to-back in the cockpit which was located in the nose. Offensive armament consisted of six fixed MK 103 cannons installed in the fuselage bulges under the engines. Defensive armament was similar to the Ar 240's , which consisted of two gun turrets (each contained two13mm MG 131 machine guns) mounted above and below the fuselage and were aimed via a periscope by the gunner.
Junkers and Dornier had already experimented with such drive shafts and obtained satisfactory results when using short shafts. However, no practical experience was yet available with right angle gear boxes and long multisection drive shafts that had to be capable of absorbing the engine power and transmitting it to the propellers while keeping vibration under control. Nevertheless, Dipl-lng. Blume tried to find engineering solutions to these problems. As had happened earlier with the Arado Ar E.561 project, the proposition was abandoned because of material and delivery problems with the drive shafts and because of the lack of interest of the Technical Bureau of the Luftwaffe in this type of drive.
| Span | Length | Height |
Wing Area |
| 14.34 m 47' 1" |
12.81 m 42' 1" |
3.95 m 13' 0" |
31.3 m² 336.9 ft² |
Thanks to Christian Julius and Andres Valdre for their translation help
Arado Ar 240
Original Arado documents showing some engine details
Above color illustration from Geheimprojekte der Luftwaffe Band III - Schlachtflugzeuge und Kampfzerstörer 1935-1945