The Arado Ar 196 is a seaplane used by the German military during World War II . In the first half of the war, Ar 196 was mainly used as a shipborne maritime reconnaissance aircraft, artillery reconnaissance aircraft, and anti submarine warfare aircraft. At the end of the war, she was mainly used as a short-range reconnaissance aircraft on shore. Arado Ar 196 is, to a large extent, the only major type of aircraft carried on German ships, launched with catapults; German battleships can carry up to 4 Arados. Due to the various tasks to be carried out and the dangers it faces on board and on the high seas, the whole aircraft adopts a hybrid structure. The wings are all metal, while the fuselage is composed of metal tubes. The front of the fuselage is covered with metal skin, and the rear of the fuselage is covered with tight fabric. The tail wing is an all metal structure, and the control surface is covered with fabric. The pontoon is made entirely of metal. The Ar 196A is equipped with two 20mm MG/FF machine guns, one on each wing. It also carried a 7.92mm forward shooting machine gun through the gap between the engine cowling and the propeller. There was a MG15 machine gun in the rear cabin, which was later changed to a double MG81Z machine gun. Two 50 kg bombs or two captured French small depth bombs can be mounted under the wings.