The Saab 29 ''Tunnan'', colloquially ''Flygande tunnan'' or just ''Tunnan'' ( en, "The flying
barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
", "The barrel"),
[.] is a
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
fighter that was designed and manufactured by
Saab
Saab or SAAB may refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB
** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB
* Saab Automobile, a fo ...
in the late 1940s. It was the second
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
-powered combat aircraft to be developed in Sweden, the first being the
Saab 21R
The Saab 21R was a Swedish fighter/ attack aircraft developed and produced by Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB). It was a jet-powered development of the piston-engined SAAB 21 and was the first jet aircraft to be produced by Saab. The R-suffix stand ...
, and it was the first
Western European
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
fighter to be produced with a
swept wing
A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction.
Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigate ...
post
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, only being preceded in Western Europe as a whole by the
Me 262
The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German ...
built during the war.
[Boyne 2002, p. 547.]["1940s."](_blank)
''Saab'', Retrieved: 27 March 2016. Despite its rotund appearance, from which its name is derived, the J 29 was fast and agile and served effectively in both fighter and
fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...
roles into the 1970s.
Development
Sweden had fallen behind the rapid technical progress being made elsewhere, and
Saab
Saab or SAAB may refer to:
Brands and enterprises
* Saab Group, a Swedish aerospace and defence company, formerly known as SAAB, and later as Saab AB
** Datasaab, a former computer company, started as spin off from Saab AB
* Saab Automobile, a fo ...
needed to catch up in terms of aerodynamics and jet propulsion.
[Widfeldt 1966, p. 3.] Accordingly, project "JxR" was initiated in late 1945 and requirements were drawn up in October 1945.
[''Flight'' 1950, p. 556.] A pair of proposals were presented by the Saab design team, led by
Lars Brising
Lars Harald Brising (1915-1995) was a Swedish engineer and aircraft designer. He is best known for having been chief designer for Saab 29 Tunnan which flew for the first time in 1948. He became major general (the head) of the Royal Swedish Air Fo ...
. The first of these, codenamed R 101, nicknamed ''cigarren'' (the cigar) due to its shape, bore a strong resemblance to the American
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first Jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed in 1943 and del ...
. The second design, which was chosen, was the
barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
-shaped design, codenamed R 1001, which proved to be both faster and more agile.
[Goebel, Greg]
"The SAAB 29 Tunnan."
''Vector site,'' 1 July 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
The R 1001 concept had a straight wing, but after the engineers obtained German swept-wing research data, it was given a 25 degree sweep. Information on swept-wings came through Switzerland and included drawings for the
Messerschmitt P.1101
The Messerschmitt P.1101 was a single-seat, single- jet fighter project of World War II, developed as part of the 15 July 1944 Emergency Fighter Program which sought a second generation of jet fighters for the Third Reich. A prominent feature ...
,
P.1110,
P.1111 and
P.1112. SAAB's project manager,
Frid Wänström
''Frid'' Benjamin Filippus Wänström (May 8, 1905, Lidköping – September 11, 1988, Linköping) was a Swedish aviation engineer who after KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 1932 was employed by the flygstyrelsen (predecessor to Royal Swedish ...
, collected these documents in 1945 from Messerschmitt engineers who escaped to Switzerland at the end of the War. Among them were engineer and aerodynamicist
Hermann Behrbohm
Otto ''Hermann'' Bernhard Behrbohm, born 30 October 1907 in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, Imperial Germany; died 12 October 1977 in Fingelsham, Northbourne, Kent, United Kingdom, was a German mathematician active in Sweden and Germany.
H ...
, who joined Saab's J 29 team. These clearly indicated delta and swept-wing designs were "reducing drag dramatically as the aircraft approached the sound barrier."
[Erichs et al. 1988, p. 37.]
To make the wing as thin as possible, the
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
retracted into the fuselage, rather than the wings.
Wind tunnel
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
testing at the
Swedish Royal University of Technology and by the
National Aeronautical Research Institute
National Aeronautical Research Institute ( sv, Flygtekniska försöksanstalten, abbreviated FFA), was a former Swedish state governmental authority under the Ministry of Defence with the aim to conduct research, development and experimentation in ...
also influenced its aerodynamics.
[''Flight'' 1950, p. 557.] These tests determined the required fuselage form to ensure it could attain the targeted critical
Mach number
Mach number (M or Ma) (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a boundary to the local speed of sound.
It is named after the Moravian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach.
: \mathrm = \frac ...
, as well as supporting the use of a straight-through airflow to maximize thrust.
[''Flight'' 1950, pp. 556–57.] Automatically locking
leading edge slot
A leading-edge slot is a fixed aerodynamic feature of the wing of some aircraft to reduce the stall speed and promote good low-speed handling qualities. A leading-edge slot is a spanwise gap in each wing, allowing air to flow from below the wing ...
s, interconnected with the
flap
Flap may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film
* Flap, a boss character in the arcade game ''Gaiapolis''
* Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland''
Biology and he ...
s, were also deemed necessary for lateral stability during take-off and landing. To further verify the swept wing, a
Saab Safir
The Saab 91 Safir (Swedish for sapphire) is a three (91A, B, B-2) or four (91C, D) seater, single engine trainer aircraft. The Safir was built by Saab AB in Linköping, Sweden (203 aircraft) and by '' De Schelde'' in Dordrecht, Netherlands (12 ...
was modified with a full-scale wing as the Saab 201.
The finalized design, incorporating the new information was drawn up in January 1946.
![J 29F cockpit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/J_29F_cockpit.jpg)
The original powerplant was to have been the
de Havilland Goblin
The de Havilland Goblin, originally designated as the Halford H-1, is an early turbojet engine designed by Frank Halford and built by de Havilland. The Goblin was the second British jet engine to fly, after Whittle's Power Jets W.1, and the f ...
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
, however, in December 1945, the more powerful
de Havilland Ghost
The de Havilland Ghost (originally Halford H-2) was the de Havilland Engine Company's second design of a turbojet engine to enter production and the world's first gas turbine engine to enter airline service (with British Overseas Airways Corpo ...
became available. This was ideal as not only was the Ghost set up for a circular air intake, its diameter would fit within the planned fuselage.
Following negotiations between de Havilland and Saab, the Ghost engine was selected to power the type.
[Widfeldt 1966, p. 4.]
Despite early doubts for the supply of an equivalent to the American 75S aluminium
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...
, Svenska Metallverken was able to manufacture it, although significantly larger sections were used than typical for aircraft construction. The structure employed heavy frames and stressed skin to meet conflicting requirements on space, strength, rigidity and accessibility.
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 ...
requested verification of the performance and a production plan for the project in February 1946.
In Autumn 1946, the Swedish Air Force formally ordered three prototypes, with the type designation ''J 29''.
Static testing of the full-scale mock-up revealed problems with pressure cabin leaks, and
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
behavior. A
hydraulic
Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...
system was installed to solve the latter issue.
[Widfeldt 1966, p. 5.] However theses delayed the first flight until after the hoped for date of 1 August 1948.
The first flight by a ''Saab 29'' prototype was on 1 September 1948, was made by
S/L 'Bob' Moore,
[''Flight'' 1950, p. 558.] who was later the first managing director of
Saab GB, UK.
A problem with the landing gear affected the expected top speed of the aircraft. Following the flight, Moore described the aircraft as "on the ground an ugly duckling – in the air, a swift." Because of the shape of its fuselage, the Saab J 29 quickly received the nickname ''Flygande Tunnan'' ("The Flying Barrel"), or ''Tunnan'' ("The Barrel") for short. While not appreciated by SAAB, its short form was eventually adopted officially.
Four prototypes were built for the test program. The first two lacked armament, carrying heavy test equipment in their place instead. The third was armed with four cannons.
Air brakes on the fuselage and on the wings behind the rear spar and both conventional and combined
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
/
flap
Flap may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film
* Flap, a boss character in the arcade game ''Gaiapolis''
* Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland''
Biology and he ...
arrangements were tested.
Flight tests revealed that the J 29 prototypes could exceed the maximum Mach number for which they had been designed and flight performance figures were typically in excess of predicted values.
Production commenced In 1948 and in May 1951,
Bråvalla Wing
Bråvalla Wing ( sv, Bråvalla flygflottilj), also F 13 Norrköping, or simply F 13, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Norrköping in south-eastern Sweden.
History
The Air Wing was established in 1943 as the fourt ...
(F 13) received the first production aircraft.
The Tunnan was produced in five main variants.
The J 29A fighter was the first model to enter service, and was followed by the J 29B and J 29E fighters, and finally the
afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...
-equipped J 29F fighter, which was the final variant built. There was also a dedicated reconnaissance variant, the S 29C.
Between 1950 and 1956, 661 Tunnans were completed, the largest production run for any Saab aircraft.
Design
![SAABJ29atSoderhamnmuseum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/SAABJ29atSoderhamnmuseum.jpg)
The Saab 29 Tunnan was the first Swedish aircraft to be specifically designed to use jet propulsion. Sweden's first jet fighter, the
Saab 21R
The Saab 21R was a Swedish fighter/ attack aircraft developed and produced by Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB). It was a jet-powered development of the piston-engined SAAB 21 and was the first jet aircraft to be produced by Saab. The R-suffix stand ...
, had been modified from the piston-engined
Saab 21.
It is a small, chubby aircraft with a single round air intake in the nose, with the pilot under a
bubble canopy
A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility.
The designs of bubble canopies can drastically vary; so ...
directly above the air intake duct on the upper-forward section of the fuselage. It has a very thin mid-mounted moderately swept two-spar wing which is a single structure attached to the fuselage by four bolts.
The
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
is hydraulically operated, and was designed to be suitable for use from rough airstrips.
To improve pilot survivability, the Tunnan used an
ejection seat
In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the aircraft pilot, pilot or other aircrew, crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an ex ...
Saab developed in 1943, with an explosive jettisoning system for the canopy.
The Tunnan is powered with a single
de Havilland Ghost
The de Havilland Ghost (originally Halford H-2) was the de Havilland Engine Company's second design of a turbojet engine to enter production and the world's first gas turbine engine to enter airline service (with British Overseas Airways Corpo ...
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
which have a top speed in excess of , better performance than Sweden's
de Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and ...
s. The engine was bolted to the fuselage at three points and a special trolley was used to remove the engine for maintenance.
The final version had an
afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...
, the first successful one used with a British jet engine.
Improvements were made to the wing to incorporate a
dog-tooth
In architecture, a dog-tooth or dogtooth pattern is an ornament found in the mouldings of medieval work of the commencement of the 12th century, which is thought to have been introduced by the Crusaders. The earliest example is found in the hal ...
leading edge, raising the critical
Mach number
Mach number (M or Ma) (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a boundary to the local speed of sound.
It is named after the Moravian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach.
: \mathrm = \frac ...
. From 1963 onwards, all frontline J 29Fs were equipped with
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prov ...
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
-seeking
air-to-air missile
The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back)
An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
s.
Operational history
Sweden
![Tunnan at Malmen 2010-06-13 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Tunnan_at_Malmen_2010-06-13_3.jpg)
The J 29 was fast and agile, and set the world speed record on a closed circuit in 1954
["General Aviation World Records: Saab J 29."](_blank)
''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)''. Retrieved: 18 February 2009. at 977 km/h (607.05 mph). Two S 29C (reconnaissance variant) additionally set an international speed record of 900.6 km/h (559.4 mph) over a closed-circuit course in 1955.
The crash record in early service was poor, mainly due to the inexperience with swept-winged aircraft and the lack of a two-seat,
dual control Tunnan trainer variant: this meant that Swedish fighter pilots could only be trained using two seat variants of the
de Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and ...
(a straight-winged jet), before going solo in a Tunnan. 99 pilots were killed during military practice flights in Sweden.
In May 1967, the fighter versions of the Tunnan was retired from combat service; however, a number of aircraft were retained and reconfigured for use as
countermeasure
A countermeasure is a measure or action taken to counter or offset another one. As a general concept, it implies precision and is any technological or tactical solution or system designed to prevent an undesirable outcome in the process. The fi ...
s trainers and for
target towing duties into the 1970s.
In August 1976, the last official military flight was performed at the Swedish Air Force's 50th anniversary air show.
Austria
On 27 January 1961, the Swedish Government authorized the Air Board to sell 15 J 29F Tunnans to Saab for restoration and resale to the
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 ...
. In 1962, the sale of a further 15 J 29F aircraft to Austria was authorized.
[Widfeldt 1966, p. 10.] This second batch was modified so a camera pod could be installed in the port side of the nose of each aircraft, which required the removal of two cannons. The interchangeable camera pod could be exchanged in roughly 30 minutes, and the cameras could be redirected in flight from the cockpit. Due to the limitations of the 1955
Austrian State Treaty
The Austrian State Treaty (german: Österreichischer Staatsvertrag ) or Austrian Independence Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying po ...
, these were never armed with
air-to-air missiles
The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back)
An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...
. The Tunnan remained in Austrian Air Force service until 1972.
On 20 October 1964 at 9:48 a.m., two Austrian J 29Fs took off from the base in Linz (they belonged to the 2. Jagdbomber Staffel, the first Bu. No. 29559 "E" was piloted by Sergeant Johan Kemetinger, the second Bu. No. 29627 "L" was piloted by Staff Sergeant Alfred Erdler). In bad weather and a radio beacon mix-up, the pilots "smoked" and crossed the airspace of the then Czechoslovakia. Due to the bad weather, they could not even be intercepted by the emergency pair, who had to stay at the airport. The Austrian pilots thus got deep into the interior of the country and after finding that they had fuel for about the last 2 minutes of the flight, the pilots, believing that the field on which they landed was solid enough, landed in a field in the area of the village of Orech in the Prague-West district. Coincidentally, just a few kilometres from the civilian Prague-Ruzyně airport. One machine lost its landing gear on landing, the other overturned on a ditch, the pilot was trapped and had to be rescued by people working in the field. Both pilots were returned to their homeland after two days. The planes followed them later by rail.
UN operations in the Congo
![J-29 jets in the Congo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/J-29_jets_in_the_Congo.jpg)
The Tunnan was the first Swedish jet aircraft to see combat. In response to an appeal by the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
(UN) for military support in September 1961, an initial force of five J 29Bs organized as the F 22 Wing of 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 ...
, were stationed in the
Republic of Congo
The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
as Sweden's contribution to a UN peacekeeping mission (
ONUC
The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...
).
[Widfeldt 1966, p. 9.] They were subsequently reinforced by four more J 29Bs and two S 29C photo reconnaissance Tunnans in 1962.
The J 29s were the only combat aircraft operated on behalf of the UN. The Tunnans 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 heavy
ground fire. The consensus of the crews and foreign observers was that the Tunnan's capabilities were exceptional. Their secessionist adversaries used a few
Fouga Magister
Fouga (also known as Air Fouga) was a French manufacturing company established by Gaston Fouga at Béziers during 1920. Originally specialising in the repair of railway rolling stock, the firm eventually became most noted for the aircraft it p ...
s and other aircraft with no air combat capabilities.
Swedish pilots refused some requests for close air support to ground troops, reasoning that the risk of civilian casualties was too high. In November 1962 the Swedish air commander refused a direct order to destroy the secessionist's Fouga Magisters since they were unarmed.
The only aircraft lost was by a high-ranking officer who crashed during an aborted takeoff for a test flight. When
ONUC
The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...
ended in 1964, some of the Swedish aircraft were deliberately destroyed at their base, as they were no longer needed in Sweden, having been superseded by later variants, and the cost of returning them wasn't justified.
Variants
![Saab 29 Tunnan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Saab_29_Tunnan.jpg)
;J 29
: Four prototypes built in 1948–50.
[Widfeldt 1966, p. 6.]
;J 29A
: Fighter, 224 built from 1951 to 1954; later series had wing-mounted dive brakes moved to the fuselage, ahead of the main landing gear doors.
;J 29B
: Fighter, 332 built 1953–55; featured 50% larger fuel capacity and underwing hardpoints to carry bombs, rockets and drop-tanks.
[Widfeldt 1966, p. 7.]
;A 29B
: Same aircraft as the J 29B, when serving with attack units.
;S 29C
: Reconnaissance ("S" was derived from S''paning''; scouting or reconnaissance in Swedish), 76 built from 1954 through 1956; five cameras mounted in a modified nose (no armament was carried). Later modified with the improved wing design introduced on the J 29E.
;J 29D
: Proposed fighter variant with
afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and comba ...
. One proposal (alternative 2) fitted the type with 4x 30 mm Hispano HSS 825 guns. One J 29A (number 29137) trialed with 30 mm HSS 825
mockup
In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at leas ...
s in 1952. After trestle mount trials of the 30 mm HSS 825 in 1954 it was found that the weapon was unsafe and the idea to use it on the J 29D was scrapped. A single J 29D prototype was built to test the afterburning Ghost RM 2A turbojet with 27.5 kN (2,800 kgp/6,175 lbf) afterburning thrust. Ultimately converted to J 29 F standard.
[Widfeldt 1966, p. 8.]
;J 29E
: Fighter, 29 built in 1955; introduced an improved wing design with a leading edge dogtooth to increase the
critical Mach number
In aerodynamics, the critical Mach number (Mcr or M*) of an aircraft is the lowest Mach number at which the airflow over some point of the aircraft reaches the speed of sound, but does not exceed it.Clancy, L.J. ''Aerodynamics'', Section 11.6 At ...
.
;J 29F
: Fighter, 308 aircraft converted from available stocks of B and E model airframes from 1954 to 1956; featured the afterburning Ghost and dog-tooth wing; all remaining aircraft were further modified in 1963 to carry a pair of US-designed
AIM-9B Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder (where "AIM" stands for "Air Intercept Missile") is a short-range air-to-air missile which entered service with the US Navy in 1956 and subsequently was adopted by the US Air Force in 1964. Since then the Sidewinder has prove ...
heat-seeking air-to-air missiles, built by SAAB under license as the ''Rb 24''.
[Widfeldt 1966, pp. 8–9.]
;J 29F (2. JaBoStaffel variant)
: Reconnaissance modification for Austrian J 29F's serving with 2. JaBoStaffel. The modification allowed for the replacement of the left side guns with cameras in a green housing.
Operators
![HGM Saab 29 Tunnan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/HGM_Saab_29_Tunnan.jpg)
;
*
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 ...
**1. JaBoStaffel (1st fighter-bomber-squadron)
**2. JaBoStaffel (2nd fighter-bomber-squadron)
;
*
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 ...
**
F 3 Malmslätt
**
F 4 Frösön
**
F 6 Karlsborg
**
F 7 Såtenäs
**
F 8 Barkarby
**
F 9 Säve
**
F 10 Ängelholm
**
F 11 Nyköping
**
F 12 Kalmar
**
F 13 Norrköping
**
F 15 Söderhamn
**
F 16 Uppsala
**
F 21 Luleå
;
ONUC
The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was 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 ...
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Surviving aircraft
* J 29F 29624 displayed at the Aeroseum in a cavern at Gothenburg/Säve airport.
* J 29F 29640 preserved at Midlands Air Museum, Coventry, UK
* J 29F 29665 at the
Musée de l'Air located at the former
Paris–Le Bourget Airport
Paris–Le Bourget Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport de Paris-Le Bourget) is an airport located within portions of the communes of Le Bourget, Bonneuil-en-France, Dugny and Gonesse, north-northeast of Paris, France.
Once Paris's principal ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
"Saab J 29F Tunnan."
''Musée de l'Air''. Retrieved: 21 March 2015.
* J 29F 29566 on display at the Museum of Military History
The Museum of Military History – Military History Institute (german: Heeresgeschichtliches Museum – Militärhistorisches Institut) in Vienna is the leading museum of the Austrian Armed Forces. It documents the history of Austrian ...
in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
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, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
Specifications (Saab J 29F Tunnan)
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
* Berns, Lennart and Robin Lindholm. "Saab J 29 Tunnan". ''International Air Power Review'', volume 13/2004, pp. 152–73.
* Boyne, Walter J. ''Air Warfare: An International Encyclopedia, Volume 1.'' ABC-CLIO, 2002. .
* Erichs, Rolph et al. ''The Saab-Scania Story''. Stockholm: Streiffert & Co., 1988. .
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Great Book of Fighters''. St. Paul, MAN
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...
: MBI Publishing, 2001. .
* Lombardi, Fiona. ''The Swiss Air Power: Wherefrom? Whereto?'' vdf Hochschulverlag AG, 2007. .
"Saab-29: Sweden's new jet fighter."
''Flight International'', 4 May 1950. pp. 556–58.
* Taylor, John W.R. "Saab J 29." ''Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. .
* ''This Happens in the Swedish Air Force'' (brochure). Stockholm: Information Department of the Air Staff, Flygstabens informationsavdelning, Swedish Air Force, 1983.
* Widfeldt, Bo. ''The Saab J 29''. Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1966.
* Wilson, Stewart. ''Combat Aircraft since 1945''. Fyshwick, AU: Aerospace Publications, 2000. .
* Winchester, Jim. "Saab J 29". ''Military Aircraft of the Cold War (The Aviation Factfile)''. Rochester, Kent, UK: The Grange, 2006. .
External links
Military aviation: Swedish and worldwide
on Vectorsite.
The photo: only flying Saab J29F in Swedish colours is operated by heritage flight of the Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force)
- 2012.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saab J 29 Tunnan
29
1940s Swedish fighter aircraft
Single-engined jet aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1948
Mid-wing aircraft