Swedish Combat Aircraft - Jet

Aircraft

Jet Aircraft

A jet aircraft is an aircraft powered by one or more jet engines. An older name is reaction plane, i.e. powered by reaction engine. Jet aircraft can travel at high speeds, up to Mach 3. The jet engine was used in fighter aircraft as early as the end of World War II, for example in the Messerschmitt Me 262. Single-engine jets are not common on larger aircraft, but they are common on smaller military aircraft, both on fighter aircraft and school aircraft for basic pilot training.

List of Military Jet Aircraft in the Swedish

Air Force

• J 21RA – Saab 21, 60 in Swedish service 1945 - 1951 • J 28 – de Havilland DH 100 Vampire, 380 in Swedish service 1946 - 1957 (1966) • J 28C – de Havilland DH 115 Vampire T Mk 55, 57 in Swedish service 1952 - 1967 • Saab 29 Tunnan, 661 in Swedish service 1951 – 1957 (1976) • Saab 32 Lansen, 450 in Swedish service 1955- 1978 • J 33 – de Havilland DH 112 Venom, 60 in Swedish service 1953 - 1960 • J 34 – Hawker Hunter, 120 in Swedish service 1955 - 1969 • Saab 35 Draken, 615 in Swedish service 1960 - 1998 • Saab 37 Viggen, 327 in Swedish service 1973 - 2005 • Saab 39 Gripen, 204 in Swedish service 1996 -

de Havilland DH 100 Vampire J 28

The de Havilland Vampire, also known under the product names DH 100, DH 113, and DH 115 depending on the variant, was a British jet-powered fighter aircraft from the second half of the 1940s. The type entered service with the British Air Force in 1945 just before the end of World War II but did not see any combat before the war ended. The image shows two jet aircraft de Havilland Vampire J 28A, the first Swedish jet-powered aircraft, marked K and H from F 3 Östgöta Air WIng in 1951. Image: Flygvapenmuseum, ID: FVMF.002274. The Swedish Air Force signed an order for 70 Vampire Mk I on 23 January 1946, as the aircraft's first foreign customer. The aircraft began to be delivered to Bråvalla Air Wing (F 13) in June of the same year and was initially designated J 28. The designation was then changed to J 28A on 11 August 1948 with the purchase of the Vampire Mk 50 (FB Mk 6), which became J 28B. The J 28A was armed with four 20 mm automatic cannon m/46, short 20 mm akan m/46, and was equipped with a Goblin II engine, in Sweden designated "Reaktionsmotor 1", short RM1, which was the first jet engine in the Swedish Air Force. The RM1 was also imported separately for use in the Saab J 21RA aircraft. Variants: J 28A: The J 28A was initially largely identical to the British Vampire Mk I, but in 1950 all J 28As were sent to CVM (The Malmslätt Central Flight Workshop) to have their wings shortened to match the J 28B (though 1 cm shorter) to improve flying qualities. J 28A served at F 13 Bråvalla Air Wing until 1950 when they were replaced by J 29 Tunnan. J 28A were then transferred to Östgöta flygflottilj (F 3) at Malmslätt where they were used until 1953. After J 28A had been stationed at F 3 they were sent to the Flight School (F 20) in Uppsala to be used as school aircraft. The version remained in active service until 1955. A total of 70 J 28A were delivered. J 28B: The good experiences with the J 28A made the Swedish Air Force later buy a more modern Vampire version called Vampire FB Mk 6, which was exported to Sweden under the export name Vampire FB Mk 50. In Sweden, the type was designated J 28B. The first aircraft was delivered in 1949 to the Svea Air Wing (F 8) where they replaced the then obsolete Saab J 22. Deliveries continued until 1952 when a total of 310 J 28B were delivered. The J 28B became obsolete as a fighter rather quickly but remained in active service in the first line until 1955. The J 28B was also used as an air-to-ground attack aircraft. These J 28As, sometimes called A 28Bs, were replaced by the A 32A Lansen in 1957. In 1956, a larger number of J 28Bs began to be transferred to the Air Force Aviation School (F 5) at Ljungbyhed where they were to be used as training aircraft. The year 1966 was the last year that aspirants flew J 28Bs. Like the A 28B and S 28B, these J 28Bs were sometimes called Sk 28Bs. J 28C: In January 1952, the Swedish Air Force ordered 20 de Havilland DH 115 Mk 55 two-seaters, an export version of the Vampire T Mk 11. These were designated J 28C and were initially used as fighters by the air wings that had J 28Bs. The J 28C had the same 20 mm m/47B automatic cannon as the J 28B. In 1953 another 10 J 28Cs were ordered. Therefore 15 more two-seater aircraft were ordered from de Havilland, this time of the model DH 115 Vampire Mk 55A. These had a new canopy. These new planes were designated J 28C-2, while earlier J 28Cs were redesignated J 28C-1. There were a total of 57 two-seater DH 115 Vampires in Swedish service. When the F 14 Air Wing started to receive their A 32A Lansen, it was decided that 12 of their J 28Bs would be converted to J 28Cs. Fuselages and tail sections were ordered from de Havilland and these were fitted to the planes in Sweden. These aircraft were essentially identical to the J 28C-2 but were given their own designation in the form of the J 28C-3. The first batch of student air force pilots who enrolled at the Flight School in 1967 was the last batch to fly the Vampire during their training. After their graduation, the J 28C was taken out of service completely. None of the Vampires in the Swedish Air Force were equipped with ejection seats. Specifications: • Crew 1 (2) • Length 9.37 m • Wingspan 11.58 m • Height 1.88 m • Wing area 24.34 m² • Empty weight 3,297 kg • Max. takeoff weight 5,618 kg • Max. flight altitude 12,200 m • Max. speed 720 km/h • Range 1,755 km • Engine 1 × de Havilland Goblin • Traction power 1,500 kp

Saab 29 ”Tunnan”

The Saab J 29 was a Swedish single-engine jet fighter that was designed and manufactured by Saab (Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget - Swedish Aerospace Ltd) in the 1940s. With the rotund appearance of the fuselage, the Saab J 29 quickly received the nickname "Flygande Tunnan" (The flying barrel) or just “Tunnan” (The barrel). While not appreciated by Saab, its short form was eventually adopted officially. The Saab J 29 was the second turbojet-powered combat aircraft to be developed in Sweden, the first being the Saab 21R, and it was the first Western European fighter to be produced with a swept wing post World War II. The J 29 was fast and agile and served effectively in both fighter and fighter- bomber roles into the 1970s. Saab J 29 was developed to replace the older fighters J 21, J 21R, J 26, J 28, and J 31. The first flight of the prototype took place on 1 September 1948 and the Saab 29 was in active military service in Sweden between 1951 and 1972. The J 29 was considered on a par with contemporary American (F-86) and Soviet (MiG-15) aircraft and was of great importance to the Swedish aviation industry. The J 29 was the first fighter aircraft in Sweden to have swept wings. The image shows the Swedish jet fighter J 29 Tunnan, marked N from F 3 Östgöta Wing between 1953 and 1960. Image: Flygvapenmuseum, ID: FVMF.002273. The first production aircraft were delivered to F 13 Bråvalla Air Wing in 1951. A total of 224 J 29As (fighter variant) were delivered between 1951 and 1953. In 1951, the J 29 was fitted with take-off rockets that shortened the take-off distance. An attack variant, the J 29B, (sometimes called the A 29B) was introduced and delivered between 1953 and 1955. The 361 J 29Bs delivered remained in service until 1957 when they were replaced by the A 32A Lansen. Subsequently, the reconnaissance variant S 29C was developed in 76 copies between 1954 and 1956. These remained in active service until 1970. The S 29C was equipped with the PQ17 radar warning system, making it the first Swedish fighter aircraft to have a radar warning system. However, it had no weapons on board, only cameras. From 1954 onwards, all Saab 29 fighters and attack aircraft were rebuilt and given afterburner chambers. This increased the maximum speed of the planes somewhat, but most importantly, it improved the climbing capability. Of the 661 Saab 29s in the air force, 242 were scrapped due to accidents in which a total of 99 pilots died. The relatively high accident rate at the beginning was due to a lack of knowledge of swept- winged aircraft. The high number of accidents was also due to Sweden's desire to stay prepared during the Cold War. Exercises were conducted in as war-like a manner as possible, and Swedish pilots had few restrictions on what they could do. Air combat was also often practiced in large formations and collisions were not uncommon. Further, there were no two-seat, dual-control trainer variants of the Saab 29. The Swedish fighter pilots could only be trained using two-seat variants of the de Havilland Vampire (a straight-winged jet), before going solo in a Saab 29. Reconnaissance missions against the Soviets: By the end of the 1950s, Sweden's air force was the fourth largest in the world, with more than 1,000 aircraft. The Södermanland Air Wing F 11 in Nyköping was an air unit entirely dedicated to long- range reconnaissance against foreign ports, airfields, ships, and other military targets. The main aircraft used for aerial reconnaissance at this time was the S 29C, Tunnan, 76 aircraft. They were equipped with 6 different advanced reconnaissance cameras. The reconnaissance aircraft flew as low as possible to avoid detection, often below 20 m altitude, i.e. under Soviet radar coverage. Often these pilots flew reconnaissance missions along the Soviet Baltic and East German coasts. An important part for these pilots was to maneuver away from pursuing fighters. Russian Mig-15 and Mig-17 fighters had automatic cannons but lacked radar. The nationality markings on these reconnaissance Sabb 29s were masked with black stripes making the Saab 29 difficult to identify. When the planes were flying low over the sea surface, they could well blend in with the ocean waves. The Swedish Air Force never lost any Sabb 29 Tunnan in action during these reconnaissance missions against the Soviet Union. On 6 May 1954, a world speed record was set by a J 29B with an average speed of 977 km/h on a 500 km closed circuit. The Saab 29 was the first Swedish jet aircraft to see combat. As part of a UN operation, 5 J 29Bs were sent to Congo-Léopoldville in 1961 for peacekeeping purposes, during the Congo crisis. Another 4 J 29Bs and 2 S 29Cs were sent to the Congo the following year. The air unit, designated F 22 Wing, was part of the U.N. Fighter Wing. The J 29s were the only combat aircraft operated on behalf of the UN. The fighter aircraft received UN identifying markings on their fuselages. Most missions involved attacking ground targets with cannons and unguided rockets but no aircraft were lost in action despite the heavy ground fire. The consensus of the crews and foreign observers was that the J 29's capabilities were exceptional. The image to the right shows Saab J 29B fighters in UN service in Congo between 1961 and 1963. Image: Wikipedia. Saab 29 types: Fighters (J 29), Attack aircraft (A 29), Reconnaissance aircraft (S 29). A total of 661 Saab 29 of the different variants were produced. Variants: • J 29A: first fighter variant of the Saab 29, equipped with the RM 2 engine (de Havilland Ghost). 224 built from 1951 to 1954. • J 29B: fighter, featured 50% larger fuel capacity and underwing hardpoints to carry bombs, rockets, and drop-tanks. 332 built 1953–55. • A 29B: Attack variant, same aircraft as the J 29B. Attack aircraft when serving with attack units. • S 29C: Unarmed reconnaissance aircraft. 76 built from 1954 through 1956. • J 29D: Test aircraft equipped with a RM 2B (de Havilland Ghost engine with Swedish-built afterburner). • J 29E: Converted B-variant. It introduced an improved wing design with a leading edge dogtooth ("Dog-tooth wing") to increase the critical Mach. • J 29F: 308 aircraft converted from available stocks of B and E model airframes from 1954 to 1956. Equipped with RM 2B from J 29D and E variants dogtooth-wing. Specifications: • Crew 1 • Length 10.23 m • Wingspan 11.00 m • Height 3.75 m • Wing area 24.15 m² • Empty weight 4,845 kg • Max. takeoff weight 8,375 kg • Max. flight altitude 15,500 m • Max. speed 1,060 km/h, 1,075 km/h (J 29D and F) • Rate of climb 1,900 m/min • Range 1,100 km • Engines 1 x Svenska Flygmotor RM2 (de Havilland Ghost turbojet). F: RM2B. • Traction power 2800 kp Armament: A, B, E, F: 4 × 20 mm automatic cannon m/47C. Other countries: Austria bought 30 used Saab J 29Fs, which served there between 1961 and 1972. Images:

To the List of Swedish Military Jet Aircraft

Related Links

• Swedish Military Aircraft - start • Military Propeller-driven Aircraft • Military Jet Aircraft • Signal Intelligence Aircraft • Nationality Markings - Sweden • History of the Swedish Air Force • Unit Designation of the Swedish Air Force • Uniforms of the Swedish Air Force • Aircraft Warning Service - Female Aircraft Observers, Sweden • Sweden’s Military Preparedness 1939 - 1945 • Military Images, Sweden, 1939 - 1945 • Swedish F 19 Air Wing in Finland in 1940 (Swedish Volunteer Corps)

Source References

1. Flygvapnets historia, överstelöjtnant Lennert Berns 2. Svenska flygvapnets förband och skolor under 1900-talet, Christian Braunstein, 2003 3. Försvarets historiska telesamingar, Flyghistoria från SFF, Flygvapnet 4. Flygvapenmuseum (Swedish Air Force Museum, Linköping) 5. Svenska stridspiloter flög bakom järnridån, artikel i DN 2021-05-27. 6. Wikipedia 7. Digitaltmuseum Top of page

Saab 32 Lansen

The Saab 32 Lansen (The Lance) was the basic design for a number of fighter aircraft built by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Saab) at the request of the Royal Swedish Air Force Material Administration (Kungliga Flygförvaltningen, KFF) around the turn of the decade 1950. The image shows Swedish fighter aircraft Saab 32B Lansen, J 32B, from F 12 Kalmar Air Wing. Image: Flygvapenmuseum. The aircraft was designed with all-weather capability (i.e., able to perform missions even in darkness and clouds) and to function as a fighter, attack, and reconnaissance aircraft in separate versions. The nose section was very large, allowing for advanced reconnaissance or targeting radar, as well as gun or camera emplacements. The swept wings were large and had an angel of sweep that gave characteristics suitable for both attack and fighter missions. The aircraft was also a two-seater with a tandem cabin, which divided the aircraft's duties between two crew members, a pilot who handled the flying and arming, and a navigator/radar observer. The Saab 32 was the Swedish Air Force's first aircraft with all-weather capability. The aircraft type was to replace the B 18 (A 18), S 18, and J 30 aircraft, but also to some extent the A 21A and A 21R. The first prototype 32-1 was completed in 1952 and flew for the first time on 3 November 1952. The second prototype, 32-2, flew on 15 December 1953. The first armed prototype was the 32-3, which flew for the first time on 15 April 1954. The 32-3 was followed by the prototype 32-4, which was built from production lines. Between 1955 and 1960, a total of 447 aircraft were delivered to the Swedish Air Force. One-third were destroyed in accidents during 25 years of service, killing 100 crew members. Variants: • SAAB 32A: A 32A - Attack aircraft; ground-attack and maritime-strike all-weather aircraft. Armament: four fixed 20 mm automatic cannon m/49, aerial bombs, attack rockets, and maritime target missile Rb 04. A total of 287 individuals were produced between 1955 and 1957 and were withdrawn from service in 1978. • SAAB 32B: J 32B - Fighter aircraft; all-weather fighter aircraft. Armament: four fixed 30 mm automatic cannon m/55, air-air Rb 24 missiles, air-air rockets, and attack rockets. A total of 118 individuals were produced between 1958 and 1960 and were withdrawn from service in 1970. J 32B was powered by the more powerful RM 6A engine. • SAAB 32C: S 32C - Reconnaissance aircraft; all-weather reconnaissance aircraft. Specialized maritime and photo reconnaissance variant developed from A 32A. Armament: various reconnaissance cameras, and flash bombs. The main task was maritime surveillance with radar and photo reconnaissance at night. A total of 76 individuals were produced between 1958 and 1959 and were withdrawn from service in 1978. Specifications: • Crew 2 • Length 14.94 m • Wingspan 13.00 m • Height 4.65 m • Wing area 37.4 m² • Empty weight 8,077 kg (J 32B) • Max. takeoff weight 13,500 kg (J 32B) • Max. flight altitude 15,000 m • Max. speed 1,125 km/h • Rate of climb 60 m/s • Range 1,000 km • Engine 1×RM 5A2 (A 32 and S 32) or RM 6A (J 32) • Traction power 46 kN Images:

de Havilland DH 112 Venom J 33

The de Havilland Venom was a British fighter aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire. The prototype first flew on 2 September 1949. Between 1953 and 1960, de Havilland Venom NF.51 (export version of NF.2A) served in the Swedish Air Force as night fighters with the designation J 33. The first aircraft arrived at Västmanland Air Wing (F 1) in Västerås in 1952 and were equipped with Swedish license-produced RM 2A engines. The Air Force ordered 60 two-seater aircraft. J 33 was phased out of the war organization in 1960. The aircraft system was replaced by the J 32B Lansen in the role of an all- weather fighter. The image shows fighter aircraft de Havilland Venom Mk 51, J 33, from F 1 Västmanland Air Wing. Image: Flygvapenmuseum, ID: FVMF.002286. Specifications: • Crew 2 • Length 11.15 m • Wingspan 12.70 m • Height 2.06 m • Wing area 25.9 m² • Empty weight 3,674 kg • Max. takeoff weight 5,640 kg • Max. flight altitude 12,000 m • Max. speed 1,030 km/h • Rate of climb 45.7 m/s • Range 1,730 km • Engine 1 × de Havilland Ghost • Traction power 22 kN Armament: 4 × 20 mm Hispano Mk.V

Hawker Hunter J 34

The Hawker Hunter was a single-engine British fighter aircraft developed in the late 1940s. The Hunter could fly faster and higher than any previous British fighter. On 7 September 1953, a speed record of 1,172 km/h was set in a Hunter. The image shows fighter aircraft Hawker Hunter F.4 Mk 50, J 34, at an air show at Malmen, Linköping, in June 2012. Image: Flygvapenmuseum. In the early 1950s, the Swedish Air Force saw a need for a fighter that could reach enemy bombers at higher altitudes than the J 28 Vampire and J 29 Tunnan could. This role was to be filled by the J 35 Draken, but as deliveries of this would be delayed for a few years, the Swedish Air Force ordered 120 Hunter Mk.50s (export version of the Hunter F.4) in 1954, which began to be delivered in August 1955. Sweden thus became the first export customer to take the Hunter into service. The aircraft was given the designation J 34 and came to serve at Svea Air Wing (F 8) and Södertörn Air Wing (F 18), as part of the defense of Stockholm. The Hunter J 34 was gradually replaced by J 35 Draken from 1959 onwards. In 1969 the last J 34s were withdrawn from service. Specifications: • Crew 1 • Length 14.00 m • Wingspan 10.26 m • Height 4.01 m • Wing area 32.42 m² • Empty weight 6,405 kg • Max. takeoff weight 11,158 kg • Max. flight altitude 15,240 m • Max. speed 1,150 km/h • Rate of climb 87.4 m/s • Range 3,060 km • Engine 1 × Rolls-Royce Avon 207 • Traction power 45,13 kN Armament: 4 × 30 mm ADEN-automatic cannons, bombs up to 3,400 kg, missiles, rockets.