On November 16, 1944 the OKL issued a specification calling for a Geführte Zhame Sau control aircraft able to vectoring a large number of night fighters against a ‘Bomber Stream’.
On December 16, 1944 the Arado Company proposed an Ar 234 C-5 jet bomber modified as airborne G.C.I. station with 360-degrees radar coverage and two crew members.
The new radar FuG 240/4 Berlin N4 with 400 rpm rotatory antenna offered a global panorama over a circular area with 18 km of diameter.
The rotating antenna was housed in the Obertasse, a saucer-shaped aerodynamic fairing with 1.5 m of diameter mounted above the fuselage.
In February 1945, a 1:10 scale wind tunnel model was tested at DVL-Berlin and AVA Göttingen facilities.
The FuG 350 Naxos ZR passive receiver would allow the flying G.C.I. to track the ‘Stream’ within 100 km range.
Arado Ar 234 C-5 Obertasse technical data
Wingspan: 14.41 m, length: 12.9 m, height: 4.15 m, wing area: 27 sq. m, max weight: 11,150 m, max speed: 800 km/h, range: 1,090 km, power plant: four BMW 003A turbojets each rated at 800 kg static thrust, armament: none, electronics: FuG 240/4, FuG 10P, FuG 15v+EiV7, FuG 16 Zy, FuG 25a, FuG 101a, FuG 120, FuG 125, FuG 136, FuG 222, FuG 350 ZR, Peil G VI, FuBl2.
