Copyright © Hans Högman 2022-06-12
Military Aircraft of the Swedish
Air Force
Air Force 1936 –
The Swedish Air Force was established as an
independent armed service on 1 July 1926.
However, already in the 1910s, there were aviation
activities in the Army. The first army flight took
place on the ice outside Stockholm in 1912. The
Navy was also early with aviation and in February
1919 the Navy established a winter flying training
school in Hägernäs just north of Stockholm.
At this time air reconnaissance was the most
important mission for military aviation.
The 1925 Swedish Defense Act included the
creation of an independent Air Force from 1926,
with the Chief of the Air Force taking up his post on
1 July 1925.
In 1936, a major effort was launched for the Air
Force. The investment also meant the creation of a
Swedish aerospace industry when Saab was
founded in 1937.
For more information, see History of the Swedish
Air Force.
Swedish Air Force Designations for Military
Aircraft
The Swedish military aircraft have a designation
that has a prefix consisting of one or more
letters followed by 2 digits and ending with a
suffix that is also a letter. The aircraft usually also
has a name in addition to the designation, for
example, J 35A Draken.
The prefix indicates the type of aircraft in terms of
its use. The numbers are the model designation
and the suffix the version of the aircraft.
Prefix:
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J – Fighters (Jaktflygplan)
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B – Bombers (Bombflygplan)
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S – Reconnaissance aircraft (Spaningsplan)
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A – Attack aircraft (Attackflygplan)
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T – Torpedo bombers (Torpedflygplan)
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Tp – Military transport aircraft
(Transportflygplan)
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Sk – Training aircraft (Skolflygplan)
The model designation consists of one or two
digits.
For example, J 35A, where "J" stands for fighter
(jakt), 35 is the model designation used for “Draken”
(The Dragon) and "A" indicates that this is the first
version of the “Draken”.
In recent decades, combat aircraft have been
developed to carry out a wide range of missions
and have a prefix consisting of two to three letters,
so-called multirole combat aircraft (MRCA).
Examples are JA 37A Viggen, AJ 37A Viggen, and JAS
39E Gripen.
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JA – Fighter aircraft also capable of attack
missions (secondary role as attack aircraft)
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AJ – Attack aircraft also capable of fighter
missions (secondary role as fighter)
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JAS - Fighter aircraft that are also capable of both
attack and reconnaissance missions (Fighter-
Attack-Reconnaissance).
Before 1940, each type of aircraft in the Swedish
Air Force had its own number series on the aircraft.
If we take the Hawker Hart as an example, it had the
designation B 3 as a bomber but S 9 as a
reconnaissance aircraft.
In 1940, the aircraft designation system was
changed and the Caproni Ca 313 became the first
aircraft to be assigned a designation under the
1940 designation system.
In this system, aircraft models were assigned an
aircraft number and the Caproni Ca 313 became
Aircraft 16, instead of having different type numbers
depending on their assigned role. This meant that
the aircraft model kept its aircraft number
regardless of its function, here B 16, T 16, S 16, and
Tp 16.
Various Types of Aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a combat aircraft designed
primarily to destroy enemy aircraft, i.e. air-to-air
combat. Fighters are comparatively small, fast, and
maneuverable.
Attack aircraft are combat aircraft designed to
engage ground targets or naval forces. Examples of
targets for attack aircraft are thus ground troops,
combat vehicles, and ships. However, bridges,
roads, ports, and buildings are also common
targets for attack aircraft. This can be done using
automatic cannons, rockets, missiles, or bombs.
Attack aircraft engage targets on the battlefield
(tactical targets) as opposed to bombers which
bomb targets away from the front line (strategic
targets). Attack aircraft may also be equipped for a
secondary role, such as a fighter capability.
Reconnaissance aircraft, sometimes called spy
aircraft or spy planes, are combat aircraft that carry
equipment for reconnaissance, usually photo
reconnaissance but also signal reconnaissance
(SIGINT or AEW&C).
AEW&C = Airborne Early Warning and Control.
SIGINT = Signals intelligence.
Multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) are combat
aircraft intended to perform different roles in
combat. These roles can include air-to-air combat,
air support, aerial bombing, reconnaissance,
electronic warfare, and suppression of air defenses.
In other words, a fighter aircraft that can be used
both as a fighter, attack, or reconnaissance aircraft
(Swedish abbreviation JAS).
Multirole combat aircraft are basically built as
fighters but are given full reconnaissance and
attack capabilities through a variety of internal and
external systems. It is designed to function
primarily in one of these roles, without the others
being secondary. A good example of this type of
combat aircraft is the Saab JAS 39 Gripen.
Bombers are a type of combat aircraft designed
primarily to carry and use aerial bombs as a
method of attack. The bombs are carried either
internally or externally and vary in size and quantity
depending on the bomber type and aircraft model.
Internal bombs are located in a so-called bomb bay,
while external bombs are mounted on so-called
bomb racks.
Bombers are generally used to bomb targets away
from the front line (strategic targets) as opposed to
attack aircraft which generally bomb front line
targets as a form of support. The bombers are
usually protected by fighters, known as escorts.
Dive bombing is a technique in which the pilot flies
almost vertically down towards the target before
dropping the bombs and the aircraft is quickly
recovered.
Bombers are normally larger, heavier, and less
maneuverable than fighter aircraft. An example of a
World War II bomber would be a B-17 Flying
Fortress. Bombers include light bombers, medium
bombers, heavy bombers, dive bombers, and
torpedo bombers.
Torpedo bombers are combat aircraft specially
designed to drop torpedoes. They are a special type
of attack aircraft or bomber and are sometimes
called torpedo bombers, and were particularly
common during the era of propeller-driven aircraft.
Types of Aircraft of the Swedish
Air Force
Propeller Aircraft
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Bombers
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Fighters
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Reconnaissance aircraft
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Torpedo bombers
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Transport aircraft
Jet Aircraft
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Jet combat aircraft
Swedish Air Force Uniforms
When the Swedish military aviation after the first
world war received the status of an independent
permanent armed service in 1926 the question of
the Swedish aviation uniform arose. The Swedish
Air Force adopted a uniform on the French model.
This was a uniform based on the traditional naval
officers’ uniform, however single-breasted, and was
designated uniform m/1930 in Sweden.
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Uniforms of the Swedish Air Force
Swedish Militry Aircraft - 1
