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Saab J 29 Tunnan

Even before the outbreak of World War II, the Swedish government and the command of the Royal Air Force ordered to focus on arming aviation with equipment developed by Swedish designers or licensed. The Swedes have always paid special attention to the creation of a strong air force, which was fully justified during the war years. By about the middle of World War II, it became clear to everyone: the only way to further improve military aviation is to use jet engines.

There was a perception that Sweden had not kept up with wartime innovations and technical progress, and that Saab was eager to make aeronautic advances, particularly in terms of developing jet propulsion.Accordingly, project "JxR" was initiated in the final months of 1945, leading to the requirements being drawn up in October 1945. In a short time, the Swedish company Flygmotor developed a prototype of a propulsion system with a centrifugal compressor, and Svenska Turbine Factory AB Lyngstrom (STAL) and engine with an axial compressor. One of these engines was going to be installed on a new aircraft with the project name JxR. But there was clearly a lack of experience in the field of jet engines.

It was originally the P.101, which was supposed to be designed with a straight wing. However, the Swedes soon received some results from German designers on blowing swept-wing models in wind tunnels. They were taken out of Switzerland, along with some German engineers, who later went to work for Saab . This data impressed the Swedes and as a result, the creation of a new project R.1001 with a swept wing began.

The JxR fighter in concept was almost five years ahead of such an aircraft as the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. The SAAB J-29 was the first serial fighter with a swept wing of European design. "Ghost" with a centrifugal compressor was distinguished by a large diameter. Therefore, SAAB 29 (this designation was received by the company project R1001) had to be literally sculpted around the engine. It turned out that the fuselage with a small steep nasal air intake noticeably thickened towards the place where the engine was located and the aircraft's center of gravity was.

Saab 29 Tunnan (bull, in Swedish) first flew in 1948. It was in service in the Air Force from 1952 to 1976. Aircraft 29 was built for the Swedish Air Force in over 650 copies and in five versions: J 29A, A / J 29B, S29C, J29E and J 29F. A total of 15 J 29F were exported to Austria. The "Flying Barrel" was in the Air Force with 585 aircraft between 1951 to 1974. They were delivered in the summer and came to all three divisions almost simultaneously. Aircraft 29 was Western Europe's first operational fighter aircraft with jet propulsion. J-29 F is modified before the J-29 B and J-29 E. This was the last constructed version of the barrel. The model differed from the previous versions of the aircraft 29. Equipped with the Swedish designed afterburner. The aircraft was fitted with the new E-wing. The first F-prototype was flown on March 20, 1954.

The pilots greeted the new plane without enthusiasm. The outwardly clumsy fighter received the disdainful nickname "flying barrel C, and the pilots had difficulty in mastering this high-speed machine. The production of the J-29B grew at such a speed that soon the factory airfield at Linköping was jammed with planes waiting to fly over. In total, in 1953-55. released 361 J / A-29B. On one of the serial J-29Bs, the captain of the Swedish Air Force K. Westerlund set a world speed record on May 6, 1954, completing a closed 500-kilometer circle at a speed of 977 km / h and breaking the record two years ago held by the American North American "Saber" F- 86E.

The J-29 occupies a special place in the history of Swedish aviation: it is the first and only aircraft of the Swedish Air Force to take part in a military conflict outside the country. This happened in 1961-62 in the distant African Congo. In the summer of 1961, in a former Belgian colony that had just gained independence, the conspirators killed the country's first president, Patrice Lumumba. The main task of the Swedes was to attack airfields and positions of the rebels. "Tunnans" demonstrated unpretentiousness and high performance characteristics, despite the harsh climatic conditions and constant supply interruptions. It was the J-29B that put an end to this war. On December 12, 1962, they defeated the Tshombe residence in Elizabethville, after which the dictator's government and his guards fled to Rhodesia. The mutiny was suppressed, in April 63rd the planes returned to Sweden. During the Congolese operation, two J-29Bs were destoyed due to combat damage and flight accidents. Combat operation has once again confirmed the high quality of the first Swedish jet vehicle - this is the opinion of the majority of the military from different countries.

The J-29 was replaced by the J-32 Lansen and the J-35 Draken. Fighters removed from service were scrapped, transferred to training units, and used at training ranges as ground targets. Quite a few vehicles, especially the S-29C, have been converted into target towing vehicles. As part of the "wing" F3 in 1967, a special unit for providing combat training was formed. The last Tunnans flew with it until 1975, when they were replaced by the J-32D Lansen. Operation of all modifications of the Tunnan aircraft passed without incident. The pilots highly appreciated their flight characteristics, good maneuverability and speed of climb, and the service personnel - the convenient maintenance of the aircraft. The longest survivors in the Swedish Air Force were the J-29F variants (up to 1977), although it should be noted that after 1968 they were used only as target towing vehicles.

The J-29 Tunnan aircraft laid the foundation for another tradition. They were the first Swedish combat aircraft to enter service with the Air Force of a foreign country. In 1960, Austria announced the replacement of the obsolete combat training "Vampires". In 1961, according to the results of the competition, in which the Russian MiG-17F and the American F-86 "Saber" took part, the J-29F was selected. The Swedes offered their neutral counterparts the J-29F. At the beginning of 1961, the countries signed the first contract for the supply of 15 vehicles.

Later versions of the Tunnan received various refinements, including the addition of an afterburner, which was the first successful use of such a device in combination with a British jet engine. Improvements were made to the wing shape, incorporating a dog-tooth leading edge, for the effect of raising the critical Mach number of the aircraft. From 1963 onwards, all frontline J 29Fs were equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-seeking air-to-air missiles.

The crash record in early Swedish 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 (a straightwinged jet), before going solo in a Tunnan. 99 pilots were killed during military practice flights in Sweden.