In practice, the aircraft was a sound, solid, and stable platform in the air and was generally considered high performance for the period. However, the Ar 68 had a poor showing against speedier, single-engined Soviet types like the monoplane Polikarpov "I-16" (detailed elsewhere on this site) and this resulted in a revision of the design to produce the "Ar 68F" with its BMW VI 7.3Z engine of 750 horsepower - an attempt to extract more power and performance from the outclassed machine. Another experiment resulted in the ultimately-abandoned "Ar 68G" and its supercharged BMW VI of 671 horsepower. Still another shifted to a supercharged air-cooled radial engine of 850 horsepower through the BMW 132Da 9-cylinder unit producing the one-off "Ar 68H". This fighter model was also of note as it had a fully-enclosed cockpit - the first for the company.
Despite its limitations, the Ar 68 served well in its role as Germany looked to more advanced metal-skinned, monoplane forms. This work resulted in the stellar Messerschmitt Bf 109 which soon took the mantle of Germany's most-used fighter from the Ar 68. The last Ar 68 aircraft were relegated to the night-fighting role in their last few years of frontline service - which arrived in 1940. By that time, the line was all but outclassed by modern fighters.
The Ar 68F production model could manage a maximum speed of 205 miles per hour and range out to 310 miles while reaching heights of 24,300 feet. Rate-of-climb was an excellent 2,480 feet-per-minute and near-20,000 feet altitudes could be reached in about sixteen minutes. Dimensions included a length of 31.1 feet, a wingspan of 36 feet, and a height of 10.9 feet. The BMW engine drove a two-bladed, 10.1 foot, fixed-pitch propeller at the nose.
Standard armament became 2 x 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in fixed, forward-firing mountings with 500 rounds afforded to each gun. Optional ordnance was 6 x SC10 series fragmentation drop bombs for the light bombing role.
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