The Aircraft Design that Took the World by Storm

The squadron of Saab J29 Tunnans quickly

took

to the skies. Despite their age, the Swedish pilots were very proud of these venerable

aircraft

. Also known as the Flying Barrel, it was the first successful post-World War II jet fighter to feature a swept-wing

design

, and remained a formidable force when used in the Republic of the Congo in 1961. Although the jungle terrain of the African country Unlike the cold, misty mountains of Scandinavia, the Tunnan had no problems executing United Nations missions over the war-torn Congolese skies. As they descended to a lower altitude, the Swedish Tunnan squadron approached their target and unleashed their AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles on the enemy.

Jet Aircraft In the mid-1930s, nations such as Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union began exploring preliminary

design

s for turbojet engines. When World War II broke out, Germany had a clear advantage after the Luftwaffe successfully tested the

world

's first jet

aircraft

, the Heinkel He 178, on August 27, 1939. The British Royal Air Force soon followed with the flight inaugural of the Gloster E.28/39 in April 1941. Shortly thereafter, the US Army Air Forces developed its first jet aircraft, Bell's P59. However, none of these aircraft participated in combat operations during the war. The revolutionary German Me-262 Storm Bird became the

world

's first fully operational jet aircraft.

As the war neared its end, Allied forces launched several operations to seize Luftwaffe aircraft, equipment and personnel in order to learn about the latest developments in aviation. Notable among these were the US operations Lusty and Paperclip, which managed to capture dozens of German aircraft, engineers and scientists that became crucial to post-war US military developments. When the war in Europe ended, other jet aircraft joined the Me-262 to take to the skies, such as the Gloster Meteor, the De Havilland Vampire, the Lockheed P-80 and the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-15. However, none of them featured a swept wing design like the innovative Me-262.

Swedish engineers then set out to develop not only their country's first post-war jet aircraft, but also the first to feature a swept-wing design. The Saab 21R Sweden effectively used the limited information it gained from the German Luftwaffe's most advanced aircraft. The Swedish military then incorporated this knowledge into a piston-powered aircraft design that the Saab Defense Company had already been developing. This design featured a twin-boom booster configuration with a low wing, standard tricycle landing gear, and forward-firing armament. The prototype, dating from 1941, had seen little progress. However, in late 1945, Saab considered equipping it with a 2,000-horsepower Rolls-Royce Griffon engine.

However, information gathered about the jet engines used by the Germans in the Me-262 caused a change of plans. Saab collaborated with other Swedish companies to produce the British Goblin 2 turbojet engine under license. The aircraft design then went through a long conversion process and flew for the first time in March 1947, becoming Saab's first jet fighter. Sweden and the first jet fighter produced after World War II. Designated the Saab 21R, only 64 units were built before Saab embarked on a more ambitious undertaking: the development of another fighter aircraft with a swept-wing design. Project JxR Sweden recognized that it was falling behind in terms of post-war military innovations and decided to catch up, particularly in the areas of jet propulsion and aerodynamics.

As Joseph Stalin consolidated his power in Eastern Europe, Sweden was determined not to let its guard down against the Iron Curtain. Development of Project JxR began almost as soon as Saab decided to begin the conversion process of its Saab 21R design. The project aimed to fully develop an operational jet aircraft from scratch. Soon, the Saab design team led by Lars Brising submitted two proposals to the Swedish Air Force. The first proposal was designated R 101 and nicknamed "Cigarren" or cigar. It featured a unique shape that closely resembled the American Lockheed P-80. The second, called R 1001, had a barrel-shaped design.

The Swedish Air Force opted for this design because it proved to be faster and more agile. Saab then continued its development and replaced the straight wing design after analyzing Luftwaffe research data on the aerodynamic benefits of a swept wing design. Frid Wänström, Saab's project manager, carefully studied Messerschmitt's schematics for the P.1101, P.1110, P.1111 and P.1 fighter aircraft, which were never realized by the Third Reich. Additionally, Hermann Behrbohm, one of the many German engineers who fled to Switzerland during the final days of World War II, eventually joined Saab to assist in the development of Project JxR and the R 1001 prototype.

The Swedish Hermann fighter aircraft Behrbohm played a crucial role in demonstrating that delta and swept wings reduced drag when an aircraft approached the sound barrier. Saab corroborated this finding through extensive wind tunnel testing using a Saab 91 Safir trainer. Consequently, the R 1001 prototype received a 25-degree sweep. Tests determined that the prototype's landing gear needed to retract into the fuselage to allow the wing to be as thin as possible, thus maximizing thrust. To improve stability during takeoff and landing, Saab also incorporated slots and self-locking flaps on the leading edge. Saab initially partnered with de Havilland to power the prototype with the Goblin turbojet engine, but it was soon replaced by the more powerful de Havilland Ghost series.

The fuselage was constructed of a material similar to American 75S aluminum alloy. Some components consisted of heavy frames, while others featured stressed skin to achieve the ideal balance between strength, space and weight. The final design featured a single round air inlet in the nose, a bubble canopy above in the forward section of the fuselage, and an ejection seat equipped with an explosives ejection system. This compact, rugged fighter prototype measured 33 feet long, 36 feet wide, 12 feet high, and had an empty weight of more than 9,500 pounds. In February 1946, the Swedish Air Force approved the design and awarded Saab a production contract for three prototypes, which would fly under the designation J29.

The J29 Tunnan The three J29 prototypes encountered a series of technical problems that

took

Saab more than a year to resolve. From cabin pressure leaks to hydraulic system failures, these unconventional-looking fighters experienced a challenging start. However, progress was made and the first Saab J29 prototype took to the skies on 1 September 1948, with British Squadron Leader Bob Moore at the controls. Despite a minor landing gear problem that prevented the J29 from reaching the desired top speed, Bob Moore was pleased with the prototype's performance. He described the Saab J29 as: (QUOTE) "On the ground, an ugly duckling. In the air, a swift." A fourth prototype was later built as part of the testing program.

The initial two, including the one piloted by Moore, were unarmed and carried only heavy test equipment. The remaining two were armed with four 20-millimeter cannons. Test pilots found the aircraft to be fast, reliable and agile, with an exceptional turn and roll radius. Due to its unique shape, the J29 quickly earned the nickname Flygande Tunnan, The Flying Barrel, or simply Tunnan, meaning barrel. During initial testing, the British De Havilland Ghost turbojet allowed the aircraft to reach top speeds of more than 659 miles per hour. The estimated range was 1,678 miles, with a maximum service ceiling of 50,000 feet and a climb rate of 11,800 feet per minute.

After the testing phase, the Swedish Air Force approved production of the Tunnan in the final days of 1948. The Barrel at War Prior to production, the J29 Tunnan received several minor design improvements. The first batch of Tunnans was delivered to the Bråvalla wing in May 1951. Four other models succeeded the initial J29A variant. The B model was equipped with larger internal fuel tanks to increase the range of the Tunnan and featured eight internal hardpoints for missiles and rockets, as well as two external hardpoints for incendiary bombs or drop tanks. Between 1954 and 1956, Saab introduced the C model, custom designed for reconnaissance operations.

It lacked weapons and featured a redesigned nose with five chambers. The J29E model introduced new wings with a leading-edge dogtooth to improve performance at Mach speeds. Finally, the F variant was introduced in 1963, modified only to carry a pair of American AIM-9B Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. El Tunnan set two world records during his career. On May 6, 1954, Captain Anders Westerlund reached an average speed of more than 607 miles per hour during a 310-mile flight that lasted more than 30 minutes. A year later, Captain Hans Neij and his co-pilot Birger Eriksson set another record, reaching an average speed of more than 559 miles per hour during a 621-mile flight.

The Tunnans first saw combat during the 1961 United Nations intervention in post-independence Belgian Congo. During the African peacekeeping mission that lasted until 1964, the Flying Barrel was used effectively to destroy enemy ground targets with cannons and rockets. No aircraft were lost during combat operations, but Tunnans deployed to fight in Africa were scrapped rather than redeployed to Sweden due to high costs. The fighter would serve in the Swedish Air Force until May 1967, when it was replaced by more modern aircraft. More than 661 units were produced, and today the Flying Barrel is fondly remembered as the first Swedish fighter aircraft with a swept-wing design and the first to see combat since the end of World War II.

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