Saab 29 Tunnan
Saab · Sweden · first flew 1948 · fighter
The Saab 29 Tunnan ('Barrel') was Sweden's first swept-wing jet fighter and the first swept-wing jet produced in quantity outside the USA and USSR, a remarkably advanced design that could exceed 1,000 km/h from a rotund fuselage housing a licence-built de Havilland Ghost engine.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, swept |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × turbojet, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Barrel-shaped fuselage earned nickname 'The Flying Barrel' (Tunnan) |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Barrel-shaped fuselage earned nickname 'The Flying Barrel' (Tunnan)
- First Western European swept-wing jet fighter in production
- Single de Havilland Ghost turbojet with nose intake
The very round, barrel-like fuselage with a nose intake, swept mid-mounted wings, and conventional tail is unique; it looks like nothing else in Western European aviation of its era.
Specifications
- The Saab 29 Tunnan has a length of 10.23 m (34 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 11 m (36 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 1060 km/h (659 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Designed using captured German aerodynamic data on swept wings, the Saab 29 first flew in September 1948. It proved an agile and fast fighter that surprised many who doubted Sweden's ability to produce cutting-edge military aircraft so soon after the war.
Variants
J 29A was the initial fighter; J 29B added a fuselage tank; J 29D was a proposed afterburner version; J 29E had a curved leading-edge dog-tooth; J 29F combined dog-tooth and afterburner and was the definitive variant. A photo-reconnaissance S 29C was also built.
Where you'll see it
Served with the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) from 1951 to 1976; Sweden provided J 29s to Austria in the 1960s, making Austria one of the few neutral countries to operate a swept-wing jet fighter.
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