J29 Tunnan

[Kekkonen]

Tunnan (the barrel) was SAAB's first real jetfighter, earlier they had converted propeller-driven J21's to J21R's by replacing the push-propeller engine with a jet engine (De Havilland Goblin 3). This however didn't have the needed performance (despite 800 km/h max speed) and was more of a stop-gap solution as the Swedish Air Force's first jetfighter, the J28 (English Vampire fighters) untill the J29 Tunnan could be delivered.

http://www.lasf5.nu/bildarkiv/28.jpg
J28 Vampire which Sweden ordered 1945, the engine was also used for...

http://hem.ektv.nu/~ekt000851/j21r.jpg
J21R


Type: J 29 (J for jakt = "hunter")
Country: Sweden
Function: fighter
Year: First flight 1948 and first delivery to Swedish Air Force in 1951. in Swedish Air Force service (all variants) to late 1960's. After 1968 the only remaining examples flew with the aggressor squadron, some as target towers. A 29F's were sold to Austria 1961, and were used to early 1970's when replaced with SAAB 105OE.
Crew: 1
Engines: 1 * 2800kg SFA RM 2B (De Havilland Ghost)
Wing Span: 11.00 m
Length: 10.23 m
Height: 3.75 m
Wing Area: 24.15 m2
Empty Weight: 4845 kg
Max.Weight: 8375 kg
Speed: 1060 km/h (On May 6:th 1954 a J 29B took the world record on a closed 500 km circuit with 977 km/h which were previously held by a F-86. Another F-86H took it back a year later but crashed.)
Range: 1100 km
Arnament: 4 x 20 mm automatic cannons. From J29F 2 x 20, this rather weak automatic cannon arnament was an indication that air-to-air missiles already was seen as the future. Tunnan could (from version F) also carry two Rb24 AA missiles (Swedish designation for AIM-9B Sidewinder). For ground-attack missions Tunnan could take napalm bombs, 75 mm or 145 mm unguided rockets. Also 80 mm anti-tank rockets, and 180 mm anti-shipping rockets were available.

Tunnan is unique in more ways than just looking like a beer keg. It's the only Swedish jetfighter that (to my knowledge) has been in actual combat (strafing Catangese rebel positions and the Catangese Air Force Kolwezi base in Congo in the 1960's) and it also hold the world speed record for a while.

However, during the cold war the Swedish Air Force trained very aggressively (train as you fight), low-level flights, close distances in dogfight training and so forth and this combined with far from perfect safety of the aircraft itself consequently led to about 230 Tunnans crashing, making it the most lethal airplane for Swedish Air Force pilots ever, but this should of course be seen in the context of the Swedish Air Force at the time being one of the largest in the world, and that the contemporary MiG-15's and so forth were not more safe.


Versions

SAAB 29, SAAB prototypes from 1948.
Saab 29D, SAAB prototype ( a single J 29B that was given an engine with afterburner 1955, shortly thereafter converted to J 29F standard).

J29A, delivered from 1951.
A/J 29B, delivered from 1953, with attack as main role and fighter as secondary.
S 29C, delivered from 1954, recon.
J/A 29E, delivered from 1955 (all E's were rebuilt B's).
J/A 29F, delivered from 1955 (All J/A 29Fs were conversions of J/A 29Bs, some directly, some had flown as -Es. 210 were rebuilt by Saab, the rest by the air force.) They were also given a missile option: A pair of AIM-9B Sidewinders.

http://www.aeroseum.se/bilder/bunkern3_stor.jpg
Military underground bunker complex that used to house...

http://www.aeroseum.se/bilder/j29_1958_stor.jpg
Tunnans, this picture was taken 1958

http://www.canit.se/~griffon/aviation/img/fvmus96/j29b_tunnan.jpg
As part of a UN operation, five J 29Bs were sent to Kongo in 1961. They
were followed by two S 29Cs and four additional J 29Bs in 1962.

http://w1.650.telia.com/~u65018578/175A29-F6-1955-GulMJATO_4888.jpg
A29B/E, from the times when Swedish Air Force was the 4th largest in the world

http://w1.522.telia.com/~u52219934/175A29F7roedCSatenaes55-07.jpg
A29B, that could carry rockets and napalm bombs instead of the droptanks

http://web.telia.com/~u52219934/216S29CF11-29-SAAB66-334.jpg
Four S29C's, recon versions.

http://web.telia.com/~u65018578/118-29624mmfl-F16Uppsala8jun1968LEL.jpg
J29F's

http://avions.legendaires.free.fr/Images/Gj29.jpg

http://web.telia.com/~u52220223/118-J29-A17-Vinsch.jpg
As a target tug in the 1970's after been replaced by more modern Draken fighters

http://home.swipnet.se/~w-65189/images/J29/tun09.jpe
A J-29F that has been restored and is flying as a private airplane.

http://web.telia.com/~u13203423/images/saab_gripen_tunnan.jpg
New and old

http://images.airliners.net/photos/middle/3/3/9/500933.jpg
Austrian Tunnan

http://www.ares.cz/obrazy/svoboda/SAAB-J29%20Tunnan.jpg
A pair of Austrian Tunnans

[Galil]

I like those gorgeus fat planes.

Thanks for the information, i didn't know that Sweden had the 4th large air force all over the world....was it during 1955-1965????

[Kekkonen]

I like those gorgeus fat planes.

Thanks for the information, i didn't know that Sweden had the 4th large air force all over the world....was it during 1955-1965????

In 1954 the Supreme Commander decided that a strengthened air force, partly by reducing the army and navy, was necessary. That development caused the Swedish air force to become the fourth largest in the world. In mid-50's the Swedish Navy was the fifth largest in the world and the army consisted of 39 brigades of which 6 were armored.

The Swedish Air Force was at its height (and it will never ever get to that point again) in the late 1950's. Today the Indian Air Force is the fourth largests in the world. 1961 the Swedish Air Force consisted of seventeen Wings (each with several divisions) and three schools. As for the Tunnans, 661 were made.

[Adam Wilhelm]

However, during the cold war the Swedish Air Force trained very aggressively (train as you fight), low-level flights, close distances in dogfight training and so forth and this combined with far from perfect safety of the aircraft itself consequently led to about 230 Tunnans crashing, making it the most lethal airplane for Swedish Air Force pilots ever, but this should of course be seen in the context of the Swedish Air Force at the time being one of the largest in the world, and that the contemporary MiG-15's and so forth were not more safe.



The concerns was regarding the arrow shaped wing.
Every nation wich operated this type of wing had several chrashes until they learned to fly it properly.

Other than that the Tunnan was a beuty to fly.

[joka]

Great post, thanks.

The Tunnan reminds me off jets from animated Tintin movies.

[LaoSexMachine]

I like it, looks very cartoonish though

[eucalyptus]

I saw this bird at the Borås Air show, many years ago. They said that it was one of the few last still flying and it would be taken out of comission. Im glad that I didn´t miss the chance to see it :) It is is really ugly but fun to watch because you wouldnt expect to see the acrobatics of this "clubzy" looking aircraft :D