Spectroscopy of the gravitational arcs in Cl 2244-02, A370 (arclets A5), and Cl 0024+1654

New spectroscopic data on the blue giant arc in Cl 2244-02, on the arclet A5 in Abell 370, and on the split arc in Cl 0024+1654, are analyzed. A probable redshift z = 2.237 is derived for the source of the Cl 2244-02 arc, making this object one of the most distant field galaxies known today. A star formation rate is estimated from the Lyα intensity and compared to other distant field galaxies. For A5, no prominent emission line is found, but three absorption lines point to a tentative redshift z = 1.306. The spectra of the four parts of the Cl 0024+1654 arc look rather similar, but the absence of any spectral feature allows only the determination of a redshift range: 1< z <2.1