The air defence had ordered 200 fighters from America, but only 60 were delivered before USA was involved in the war. 1941 SAAB had a suggestion for a fighter J21 from the designer Frid Wännström. After several deliberations with RLM (Reichluftsministerium) Sweden got license to build DB605 with 1475 hk. The deliberation group also tried to buy BF 109, but here it was negative.

In this situation combat air aircrafts were bought from Italy. J11, J20 and Caproni bombers. These air aircrafts were far away as good as the Bf 109 and Spitfire. During this turbulence the J21 was not produced as fast as necessary. The J21 had lots of problems with the engine from Germany and Sweden's own license production of the engine had problems too.

Biggest was that the aircraft didn't get proper cooling and in the end this restricted the climbing ability of the aircraft. Nevertheless it was a type that had big  interest in the world and the design was closely followed by the belligerent countries. Noticeable most from Russia. They reported all problems involved.

This fighter was not delivered to the air wings until war was over. Even another air aircraft was designed. It was something between Bf109 and Mustang. This prolonged of course the production of J21.

During one month J21 was stopped in favour for this J23. Today we can say that if J23 was built it had been a better aircraft than J21. The problem that J21 had with cooling made that it was not possibly to tax the aircraft on ground. The mechanics had to threw water on the cooling packets. A redesign with electrical fans had was done.

Also a catapult chair was designed. This became the solution of the escape problem. The first type of this kind of chair was done in Germany for the Heinkel He-280. The first jet air aircraft of the world 1941. Sorry to say SAAB never protected the design with patent. The English were before. This made some trouble between SAAB and deHavilland.

298 SAAB 21A were delivered to the air force up to 1948. All J21 were rebuild to J21A or scraped. Through a decision that Sweden should not have any propeller aircraft any more. The development of J21 was stopped and a redesign was made for jet power. License was bought for Goblin jet engines. Only 60 J21R were delivered because Sweden bought J28 Vampire from England.

The Swedish Air Force now had many different types of air aircrafts. Spitfire, Mustang, Italian aircrafts, J21A, Vampire J28, Venom J21R and J28. A mopping-up operation was done. Only 3 J21 were left for our history and one aircraft through different fates. The engine from one of these was later sold to Germany for the last flying Bf109. Today (2006) the interest has come so far that action has taken to rebuild one J21A to a flying J21R. This project air aircraft is the one in Air Force Museum. There is also one J21 with propeller. Read more in my links.

Saab J29 was projected 1945. Serial production started 1950 and the  last aircrafts were delivered 1956. It first replaced the A21 propeller version 1953. The design of the J29 is from the beginning a German project for a arrow wing fighter, Messerschmitt P1101. The winning forces shared and took what they wanted from the defeated Germans. The project P1101, a Swedish engineer from SAAB got (bought?) drawings and reported in shady ways, in Switzerland. These were handed over to the border of SAAB.

Lars Brising at that time chief designer at SAAB put several suggestions with this as the base. In this way it became a J29 of the Messerschmitt beginning project. The Swedish J29 Barrel became the national pride in Sweden.

In spite of this hidden origin the J29 became a very potent fighter for it's time and was in service till 1965. 661 copies were build. The Swedish pilots were not used to these advanced aircrafts and there were high efforts on education. With this new kind of flying 230 J29 were crashed  and many of them with the lost of the pilot. These accidents were believed to be caused by the fact that there were no 2 seat school version.

For  this time the project was complicated that in Sweden there was no qualified Swedish test pilot to find. Saab hired an

English pilot, Bob Moore for this job.

The first take of was 1948. The J29 was well known for at least two things. World record on track in speed and service in Kongo. At one fighter visit in Italy one J29 was damaged and it was presented to Italy because it was to expensive to repair in place.

The Swedish Air Force leader didn't realized the future value of old historical fighters. Shoot or fire them in pieces. I can never understand that it was a better schooling for pilots to shoot at an old fighter on ground. This was only showing the way of thinking at that time. If enough copies could have been stored the air force Museum today 2007 could have money enough to have an air force museum of high a level. This would be good for Swedish history.

Lucky enough there are several of these aircrafts left for enthusiast with money to be put in order again. In Sweden there was for a long time no flying Barrel. When the old mechanics and engineers realized this they got money from SAAB, firms and donations to put a good copy in order. This was a job that was completed 2007.

Only one country bought J29 and it was Austria. They bought used aircrafts which got a complete renovation. The Austrian pilots were thought in Sweden. Up to this day the Swedish people speaks with a proud voice about J29 Barrel which made the Swedish air industry well known in the world.

In the beginning of the 50th the air forces distinguish between military aircraft for different missions. The night mission had its Venom. The fighters had their Hunters. Sweden had also the B18 and B17 which were bombers.

Propeller aircrafts were too old fashioned. The air leading group had also decided in order to make a bomber effective, it had to be able to carry heavy bombs, fly fast and high.

Little Sweden could not afford such an investigation. They decided to put money in attack or as it was named during the war dive bombers. Besides they had used J21A for this. This type was although not a good one. See earlier text.

Attack air aircraft could defeat goals with high sure in aim. Saab got the task 1946 to design a suitable aircraft. This suggestion was ready 1949 and SAAB started to build. In order to build a modern jetfighter SAAB realized that the designer no longer could sit and draw and count by hand with the stick. The stick didn't deliver accuracy enough. It should take to long time. It would be too difficult to make the pieces changeable. The construction office went over to a coordinate system. Every measure was counted from zero.

In order to get help for this SAAB and Ericsson designed the computer power of that time. Later SAAB build computers with the name D22. This computer was used for the dragon. Although the development of computers went so fast that SAAB could not hang on and later sold the whole concept.

This early design was at the time proved to be Saab A32 Lance and it first test flight took place in November 1952. It was common in Sweden, after the war, to baptize a military aircraft with a nickname. Different wing angles was tested on a Saab Safir. This was done in half scale with 35°. During this time STAL in Finspång was working to design a jet engine. It was called Dovern after a lake in the Finspång area. This engine was tested on a hill just near the city. They worked with the testings 24 hours and the people living in town had certain difficulties to sleep.

Although they accepted these problems for the good sake. There were lots of demo testing to show how good the durability of the engine was. The test people threw ice cubes into the air intake of the engine. This could be done because the rotor blades were made of a special stainless steel.

Further development showed that they could not reach a satisfactory power output and for reaching this cost should go to high. It was decided to buy a licence for Rolls Royce Avon instead. The Lance was equipped with 4 20 mm canons. Big trouble was encountered because the intakes suck gun powder gases which made the rotor blades dirty. Although the patrons could be a bad factor. These canons were sparely or not at all used during  training. Compare problems with Hawker Hunter. Patron exit was done through holes for each canon.

Trial was done for air control with plates outside the front wheel. See Picture  from F15 Söderhamn. Gun powder gases was led further back to exit holes. I have not succeeded to get the ultimate l:st solution.  (Ref 1). But principle the time was gone for guns. The fighters were equipped with all different types of rockets. Canons could be placed under the wings. In the middle under the place a bulb was added. This was an extra petrol tank. It had to be covered with neoprene to be protected for the patrons. As all military aircrafts A32 Lance was continuously developed with different versions as night attack, fighter with different types of armaments.

This type was not sold to other countries but 3 aircrafts came to America in different ways. 1 aircraft was given to France and one to Spain. In Sweden there is one flying recently renovated and one at the museums in Linköping and Söderhamn. Read my links.

Between the years 1955-58 297 Lance were delivered and they replaced B18. The lance became a long lived aircraft and was very much liked by the pilots and it flew in service till 1987 lastly used as target tower. To be a tower is the fate for all military fighters when time has over rolled them.

I was once working with organization of entertainment at a Mantorp Park drag racing competition. It was in that time when Canon supported a dragster. The organizer had asked for a show with one Viggen. All the stand was full with about 20000 spectators, sun was shining and temperature was about 26°, all soft drinks, ice creams were since long time sold out. In the urinating places it was flooding. In the pause a Viggen came in over the race track, may be 75 to 100 m up, with the lowest speed, swinging a little side to side in about angle of 30°. The after burner was lit just before the starting grid. A sound one never has heard. As a true dragster spirit the fighter standing still for a half second before it with an imposing thunder accelerated straight up. On the race track grid it became almost like a tornado, smell of kerosene from exhausts, and under the stands nearby all empty cans were flown away. The girls put their hand before faces and the boys with a little to much beer in stomach, screaming of joy. It was just the like of an occasionally opportunity that only happens once in life.

In the end it gave 7415 ps pulling power and 13125 with after burner. Different sources gives different figures. Compare with the Lance, 4880 and 6500.

Viggen was first flown February 1974 by Erik Dahlström. With the new engine Pelle Pellebergs took the aircraft in the air 1974. It had such facilities that it could move backwards. JA-37 was on serial production September 1971.

Trail was made to sell it to Denmark, Norway, Belgium and India. All these were Nato countries except India. The Nato countries choose the American F16. For India export allowance was not given due to the engine. From 1997 the aircraft got updated mainly for the computer. This was due to a delivery delay of J39 Gripen. Totally 149 aircrafts were ordered.

 Although the chaos that was broken out when Swedish plans for reducing defence costs were settled, there is no figure how many air aircrafts which were placed at the wings. 1990 the producing time was over.

An overhead organization had been created, AFF. This had the purpose to handle the manufacturing logistic between ASJA and Bofors/Nohab. AFF had also the task to make the design (Alfred Gassner). Now it showed up that these firms handled as separate companies. They all presented their own suggestions.

The board now understood that AFF had no function. Saab (Bofors/Nohab) was reorganized as a new company when they merged with ASJA and got a common director of the board in Axel Wenner-Gren. Götaverken stepped out of this and went back to their ship yard. GV has an interesting history but this is mostly bound to J22. After the quotation for the bomber had been studied, the Air Board choose the proposition of ASJA. Of course no bid without changes.

The most important change for ASJA was changing  nose wheel to tail wheel. This became B18 which later was inherited by Saab. The base unit for B18 had been designed by an American designer Carl Haddon and the Swede Frid Wänström under the supremacy of Anders Johan Andersson (see Svenska Aero). Now it went quickly forward, but for a while the whole project was stopped in favour for B17. The war progress forced this as it was important to be ready with the B17. This stop didn't last for more than 7 months.

The Board had for a long time tried to get license for Daimler-Benz DB601, but the Germans took good time for this. For the time being Saab had to mount  the Swedish built Twin-Wasp. It was short off this engine so for a while aircraft for delivery got an engine that had to be dismounted at the air wing for mounting in the next delivery. In this way several aircrafts were standing without engine.

At last Sweden got the license from Germany and it showed up that they got the latest model DB605 which gave 1475 ps. The production of this engine started at once and when the first engines were mounted the B18 became 100 km/h faster than before.

The Air Board had big trust in B18 to be a one of a kind aircraft. This was of course  impossible. Testing ended with that bombing changed to more like diving aircrafts and the number of crew was changed from 3 to 2.

This diving was made possible by a new sight designed by Wilkinsson at Saab. The main idea for this sight came from a emergency landed German aircraft in Sweden.

B18 was produced between year 1944-48 with 243 copies and was in service up to 1959 when A32 Lance started to deliver.