SSD I
Role	Fighter seaplane Type of aircraft
Manufacturer	Arado Flugzeugwerke
Designer	Walter Rethel
First flight	1930
Number built	1

The Arado SSD I was a biplane fighter seaplane developed in Germany in 1930, intended to be launched from catapults on warships. This was an all-new design from Walter Rethel, sharing nothing with his other fighter designs for Arado of the late 1920s. It was a conventional unequal-span, staggered biplane, with the slightly gulled top wing attached to the upper fuselage. It was equipped with a single, large float under the fuselage and two outrigger floats near the wingtips. After evaluation at Travemünde, the floats were removed and a simple, wheeled undercarriage was fitted for competitive evaluation with the Heinkel HD 38 at Lipetsk. The Heinkel was selected, and the SSD I was relegated to trainer duties with the LVS in 1932.

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 8.50 m (27 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 10.00 m (32 ft 10 in)
• Height: 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in)
• Wing area: 30.9 m² (332 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 1,627 kg (3,587 lb)
• Gross weight: 2,030 kg (4,475 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × BMW VI , 485 kW (650 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 280 km/h (174 mph, 151 kn)
• Service ceiling: 6,800 m (22,310 ft)
• Rate of climb: 11.1 m/s (2,180 ft/min)

Armament

• 2 × fixed, forward-firing 7.92 mm (.312 in) machine guns

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arado SSD I.

• Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 73.
• World Aircraft Information Files. Brightstar Publishing, London. File 889 Sheet 74
• German Aircraft between 1919 - 1945