The Saab 401 MEFA was an experimental

air-cushioned vehicle A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull, or air cushion, ...

with a weight of 2 tons and capable of about 40 knots on open water with two people on board. A single prototype was built under contract to the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

. The craft was first tested in 1963. The Navy retired the project in 1967 when it donated the 401 prototype to the

Maritime Museum A maritime museum (sometimes nautical museum) is a museum specializing in the display of objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the militar ...

in Karlskrona Sweden.

History

The Saab 401 MEFA project was created in the late 1950s as a collaboration between Saab and the

Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration The Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration ( sv, Kungliga Marinförvaltningen, KMF) was the central board of the Swedish Navy in technical and economic terms. It was active between the years 1878 and 1968 when it was disbanded and amalgamated ...

, Karlskronavarvet (

Saab Kockums Saab Kockums Aktiebolag, AB is a shipyard headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, owned by the Swedish defence company Saab Group. Saab Kockums AB is further operational in Muskö naval base, Muskö, Dockstavarvet, Docksta, and Karlskrona shipyard, Karls ...

) and the Swedish

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 ...

(FFA). Later the project was continued on lean funds at FFA. MEFA is the Swedish acronym for ''Markeffektfarkost'' ( ground effect vehicle); the craft was also known as the "MEFAN". Its design was led by

Olof Ljungström Gustaf Olof "Olle" Ljungström (1918-2013) was a Swedish engineer. He was a visiting professor in aircraft design at Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology in the United States. Biography Olof Ljungström was born in 19 ...

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

was contracted for engineering work. It was first tested March 4, 1963, in Norrköping. In January 1964, the 401 prototype was delivered to the

Berga Naval Base Berga Naval Base ( sv, Berga örlogsbas) is a naval base of the Swedish Navy located in the Hårsfjärden fjard near Berga, Haninge Municipality. Today it is the home of the 4th Naval Warfare Flotilla, the 1st Marine Regiment and Home Guard unit ...

for testing. The craft was retired by the Navy in 1967, and donated to the Karlskrona maritime museum.

Design

The vehicle's lift was created by an eight-blade fan, driven by a 180 hp

Lycoming O-360 The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 produc ...

piston engine. Propulsion was achieved partly with adjustable drive ports in the air chamber, and also by two 72 hp motors driving external propellers. Its hovering height was maximum 17 cm. The Saab 401 was not equipped with the large rubber-skirts used to direct airflow that are typical in

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

. Instead, the vehicle was designed so that it could withstand direct contact with the lake and solid surfaces such as ice. Saab svävare 401

References

{{reflist, 30em Hovercraft Saab vehicles