[1][2][3] However, when flight tests were carried out the aircraft performed poorly and did not impress the Luftwaffe.

Arado, Blohm & Voss (Hamburger Flugzeugbau Division), Focke- Wulf, and Henschel all had experience with this specific type of aircraft and started work immediately.

Built using a shoulder wing configuration, giving the pilot unrestricted forward visibility, the Ar 198 was of steel tube construction for the forward fuselage structure with all-metal monocoque construction of the tail boom.

An air-cooled radial BMW 132 engine was initially chosen, but due to availability concerns, the first prototype was fitted with the slightly lower-powered Bramo 323 A-1 of the Brandenburgische Motorenwerke.

Basic poor performance and concerns about insufficient production capacity led the Technical Office to terminate the development of the Arado Ar 198 in the latter months of 1938.