Saab J29 Tunnan (Barrel)

1949 COLD WAR

• 1 Saab J29 Tunnan (Barrel) History
• 2 Saab J29 Tunnan (Barrel) Specification
  • 2.1 Basic
  • 2.2 Production
  • 2.3 Roles
  • 2.4 Dimensions
  • 2.5 Weight
  • 2.6 Performance
  • 2.7 Performance
  • 2.8 Armor
  • 2.9 Changes

Saab J29 Tunnan (Barrel) History

The Saab J 29 Tunnan (meaning "barrel" due to its blunt appearance), originated in the Swedish aviation industry during the Cold War (1947-1991), was the second jet fighter design produced in the country and the second End of World War II (1939-1945). The war paved the way for jet flight, and the Swedes joined the world air service and invested heavily in newer, more viable propulsion systems. According to other powers of the period, Swedish engineers relied heavily on German-captured data on jet flight and high-speed swept-wing studies.

This information was incorporated into Saab's latest available designs, which in turn produced the stately J29. The series became a mainstay of the Swedish Air Force in the air, and its tenure ended in 1976. Austria is its only foreign operator.

At the heart of the compact Tunnan is a single-seat, single-engine aircraft. It roughly followed the design method of jet aircraft at the time, with a shortened nose section that served as the intake for the air-breathing engine buried in the lower rear part of the fuselage. Underneath the tail are the jet tubes, and the entire system sits neatly under the pilot's feet, running in a straight line from the nose to the tail. This arrangement reinforces the pilot sitting on the deep fuselage and surveying the nose.

The canopy is only slightly framed and is divided into two parts. The empennage is short, covered by a small surface rudder and mid-mounted horizontal stabilizer. The wing main aircraft is mounted in the middle of the sides of the fuselage with slats marked along its chord line. These members were swept away by the high speeds expected from this fast small interceptor/fighter.

A retractable tricycle landing gear will be used for ground operations.

The Swedes had entered the postwar world at the end of 1945, where the JxR project was established. Requirements were drawn up in October of that year, for which two competing airframes were designed - the R101 and the R1001. The latter, which became Tunnan, was chosen for further development.

Preliminary tests of the new aircraft's swept wing capabilities, including extensive wind tunnel work, were carried out on the fuselage of the Saab 91 "Safir", a propeller-powered trainer platform, and preliminary prototypes were approved based on these tests. Engineers initially chose the British de Havilland "Goblin" turbojet engine, but this engine was replaced by the updated de Havilland "Ghost" series by the end of 1945.

In 1946, the Swedish Air Force approved progress on their new fighter and funded these programs to expedite the arrival of three planned airworthy prototypes. In service, these aircraft will fly under the designation "J29".

The first flight, originally scheduled for August 1948, was finally carried out on September 1, 1948 to allow time to correct some of the problems encountered during static testing. Over time, a total of four prototypes were used during the flight test phase, with weapons added to only the last two samples - becoming a 4 x 20mm automatic cannon under the nose.

After a period of successful testing and minor design modifications, the J29 finally moved from the prototype stage into full production in 1948. In May 1951, aircraft of operational quality were delivered to the Swedish Air Force, starting with the J29A.

Model J29A was the first production number 224, built between 1951 and 1954. Early models had dive brakes mounted on the wings, while later models had these mounted under the fuselage. The J29B marks 332 aircraft built from 1953 to 1955. These received larger internal fuel tanks to increase the operational range of the gas-guzzling fighter.

In addition, underwing hardpoints were installed to prevent the aircraft from carrying dropped bombs, airborne missiles or more fuel through the throwable fuel tanks. The Swedish Attack Squadron refers to these aircraft as "A29s".

The S29C is a 76 aircraft built from 1954 to 1956, modified for fast reconnaissance missions. They carried five cameras in the redesigned nose section and had no cannon armament. The new wings (with a "dogtooth" look on the leading edge) eventually led them to be renamed the J29E. Wings help increase the critical Mach number of an aircraft, the lowest Mach number at which airflow over the surface of the aircraft reaches the speed of sound but does not exceed the speed of sound.

29 were produced in 1955 as reconnaissance platforms.

The J29D was a one-off prototype for testing the D.H. Ghost RM. 2A turbojet 6,175 lbs. The model was then finalized into J29F production form, and the 308 was converted to standard from existing J29B and J29E aircraft. This work lasted from 1954 to 1956.

In 1963, the fleet was upgraded to support the American short-range air-to-air missile AIM-9 Sidewinder to further enhance the small aircraft's firepower. The rockets are also locally produced and licensed as Rb 24.

The J29 was used in the air by no less than 13 Swedish Air Force squadrons - F.3, F.4, F.6, F.7, F.8, F.9, F.10, F.11, F. 12, F. 13, F. 15, F. 16 and F. 21. The series was referred to by F. 22 "Congo" as the United Nations (UN) ONUC ("Organization of the United Nations of the Congo after Independence"), as Part of the peacekeeping effort from 1960 to 1964. The operation was the J29's first and final combat operation. It was also the first major military operation of the United Nations.

In theater, the J29 was effectively used artillery and missiles to hit enemy ground targets with no recorded casualties. After the commitment was made, the planes were scrapped instead of paying for their return to Sweden.

The agreement signed by Austria and Sweden in early 1961 made the deployment of the Austrian Air Force possible. During the first handshake between the two countries, about 15 J29Fs were contracted, and another 15 (also J29F models) were ordered in 1962. Subsequent batches were slightly modified to install an on-camera camera in place of the two automatic cannons. Unlike the Swedish J29, the Austrian Tunnans never carried Sidewinder missiles.

The service decommissioned the fleet in 1972.

Although its total production of 661 aircraft was rather limited - and there were some early crash issues, mainly due to pilots' training in handling swept-wing aircraft - the J29 was a Saab and American in the early Cold War The main product era was a success for Sweden and proved influential in subsequent fighter designs. The agile and fast small fighter was completely phased out from 1951 to 1976, maintaining a steady presence, certainly comparable to its contemporaries. Production time span from 1948 to 1956.

Before entering service with the Swedish Air Force, the J29 was used as a target tug and as a countermeasure training platform. Its last recorded flight was in August 1976.

Saab J29 Tunnan (Barrel) Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes