What tail design was characteristic of Arado aircraft?

Short answer

Single-engine Arados were recognized by having the fin and rudder mounted ahead of the horizontal stabilizer, a feature that became standard at the company and made recovering from spins very easy. On the Ar 68, the stabilizer was joined to the tall rudder by struts, a design very characteristic of Arado.

Published: November 2, 2026 · Updated: November 2, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What tail design was characteristic of Arado aircraft?

Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1990-021-20, Arado Ar 68Klinke & Co. (CC BY SA), vía commons

The forward-mounted fin of the Ar 67

The most significant development of the Arado Ar 67 was its new tail, with the fin and rudder mounted ahead of the horizontal stabilizer. That arrangement, with the fin-and-rudder assembly placed ahead of the tailplane, became a standard feature of single-engine Arados. It also made recovering from spins very easy.

Struts and sheet metal on the Ar 68

On the Arado Ar 68 the tail was a design very characteristic of the firm, with the horizontal stabilizer joined to the tall rudder by means of struts. On that fighter, sheet metal covered the stabilizer and the fin.

The fighter that carried this feature to the front

The Ar 68 was the last biplane fighter to see frontline service in the Luftwaffe. It entered Luftwaffe service in early 1936. The Ar 68F version joined I./JG 134 Horst Wessel in late summer 1936. The Messerschmitt Bf 109, a monoplane fighter, overshadowed it before the outbreak of the Second World War. When the war began, in September 1939, the Bf 109 had already replaced it in day fighter units. Even so, the type kept operating, mainly as a trainer, as late as 1944.