The Saab 29, colloquially called Flygande tunnan (The flying barrel), is a Swedish fighter that was designed and manufactured by Saab in the 1940s. It was Sweden's second turbojet-powered combat aircraft, the first having been the Saab 21R; additionally, it was the first Western European fighter to be produced with a swept wing after the Second World War, the Me 262 having been the first during the war. Despite its rotund appearance, from which its name derives, the J 29 was a fast and agile aircraft for its era. It served effectively in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles into the 1970s.
The Saab 29 Tunnan is a first-generation jet fighter, possessing the distinction of being the first Swedish aircraft to be specifically designed to use jet propulsion (Sweden's first jet fighter, the Saab 21R, had been derived from the piston-engined Saab 21). Visually, it was a small, chubby aircraft featuring an integral single central air intake forming the aircraft's nose, the pilot being housed within a bubble canopy located directly above the air intake on the upper-forward section of the fuselage, and a very thin mid-mounted swept-back wing. The two-spar wing is a single piece structure attached to the fuselage by four bolts. The undercarriage was hydraulically retracted during flight and was designed to be suitable for landing upon rough grass airstrips.
The Tunnan was equipped with a single de Havilland Ghost turbojet engine, capable of generating up to 5,000lb of thrust. It was capable of powering the aircraft to speeds in excess of 650 MPH, and reportedly provided performance in excess of Sweden's existing de Havilland Vampire fleet. The engine was attached to the fuselage at three key points, while the engine cowling could be removed as a single piece; a special trolley was used to remove the engine for maintenance. To improve pilot survivability in light of the aircraft's high speeds, the Tunnan took advantage of the availability of a Saab-developed ejector seat developed in 1943, which was combined with an explosive jettison system for the rapid removal of the canopy.
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. More details
The Tunnan was equipped with a single de Havilland Ghost turbojet engine, capable of generating up to 5,000lb of thrust. It was capable of powering the aircraft to speeds in excess of 650 MPH, and reportedly provided performance in excess of Sweden's existing de Havilland Vampire fleet. The engine was attached to the fuselage at three key points, while the engine cowling could be removed as a single piece; a special trolley was used to remove the engine for maintenance. To improve pilot survivability in light of the aircraft's high speeds, the Tunnan took advantage of the availability of a Saab-developed ejector seat developed in 1943, which was combined with an explosive jettison system for the rapid removal of the canopy.
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. More details