The Arado Ar 234 Blitz (Lightning) (German: Arado Ar 234 Blitz) was a German jet bomber of World War II, built by Arado Flugzeugwerke.

The world's first jet bomber and the first jet bomber to see combat. +The aircraft was first used in combat on August 2, 1944. Piloted by Lieutenant Erich Sommer, the reconnaissance aircraft photographed the entire area of ​​the enemy landing in Normandy in 1.5 hours. It was used by the Luftwaffe from November 1944 as a reconnaissance aircraft, and from December 1944 it carried out attacks on the troops of the anti-Hitler coalition. One of the most famous cases of using the Ar 234 was the bombing of the Remagen Bridge, the first bridge across the Rhine that was not destroyed and captured by the enemy. Although the aircraft was used sporadically at the end of the war due to fuel shortages, it remained a very difficult target to intercept due to its high speed. In the last months of the war, the Ar 234 was the only reconnaissance aircraft capable of operating in conditions of total enemy air superiority, including even over British territory.