title: Arado SSD I
text: # Arado SSD I
  
  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 $m^2$ (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
  