Raab-Katzenstein RK-26 Tigerschwalbe, also known as the Fieseler F 1 Tigerschwalbe, was a German twin-seat biplane trainer aircraft designed by

Gerhard Fieseler Gerhard Fieseler (15 April 1896 – 1 September 1987) was a German World War I flying ace, aerobatics champion, and aircraft designer and manufacturer. From birth to the 1918 armistice Born in Glesch (near Cologne), Fieseler joined the Air Serv ...

by the end of the 1920s.

Design and development

In December 1930, Fieseler was invited by the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

(''Flygvapnet'') to present his aircraft for the Swedish aircraft manufacturing company ASJA. ''Flygvapnet'' was in need for a new trainer, and the RK-26 was an interesting aircraft. Fieseler had recently won a world aerobatics championship with an RK-26. ASJA then decided to buy one aircraft. It was tested with different engine configurations by ''Flygvapnet'', who later ordered 25 aircraft from ASJA.

Operational history

The trainer was given the designation Sk 10 by ''Flygvapnet''. It was used between 1932 and 1945, but was quite controversial during its active life. This was partly due to changes in the design, which made the aircraft 200 kg heavier than the original, and this changed its flight characteristics drastically. The aircraft was involved in many accidents. Of the 25 delivered aircraft, 18 were written off. One aircraft, the SE-ADK was purchased in 1934 by a civilian, L. Hemmeringer. When the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

began, Hemmeninger donated the aircraft to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The aircraft ended up being used by the Swedish Voluntary Air Force from 9 February 1940. The aircraft was painted in Finnish colors, but was used quite sparingly, due to lack of spares and the bad condition of its engine. Most of the time it was standing at the air force base in Veitsiluoto.

Surviving craft

One Sk 10, the only remaining ''Tigerschwalbe'', is preserved at the ''

Flygvapenmuseum The Swedish Air Force Museum ( sv, Flygvapenmuseum) is located at Malmen Airbase in Malmslätt, just outside Linköping, Sweden. Malmen is where Baron Carl Cederström, nicknamed the "Flyer Baron" founded his flying school in 1912. Malmen Airba ...

''.

Operators

;: *

Austrian Air Force The Austrian Air Force (german: Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte, , Austrian Air Combat Force) is a component part of the Austrian Armed Forces. History The Austrian Air Force in its current form was created in May 1955 by the victorious Al ...

;: *

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...

;: *

Specifications

References

{{Swedish military aircraft designations Raab-Katzenstein aircraft Biplanes Aerobatic aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft 1920s German military trainer aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929

Design and development

Operational history

Surviving craft

Operators

Specifications

See also

References