Saab 29 Tunnan.
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Red 4

Original Poster:

10,744 posts

211 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
quotequote all
I saw one of these flying at the weekend.

Such an impressive aircraft for something that first flew in 1948.

It's a stumpy little fecker and was nicknamed "The Flying Barrell" due to its rotund appearance.

It may be the first time some have heard of this fighter ( although I suspect some on here will know it very well ) but it did hold some speed records back in the day and the aircraft was renowned for its manoeuvrability. It remained in service until the 70's.

Anyway, some pics;







It's a bit like an F-86 Sabre which ate all the pies.

Wiki entry here;
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_29_Tunnan

Eric Mc

124,926 posts

289 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
quotequote all
Tunnan is the Swedish for barrell.

Red 4

Original Poster:

10,744 posts

211 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
Tunnan is the Swedish for barrell.
What are your thoughts on it, Eric ?

A Shooting Star was also part of the display ( same era).

The difference in performance and agility ( the Saab being much better ) was pretty evident from what I saw.

It may be a poor comparison but, as I say, over to you ...


hammo19

7,160 posts

220 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
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I think it has passing resemblance to the MiG 15 as well....

motomk

2,186 posts

268 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
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Remember making a model of one when I was young because I liked the look of them!




Captain Smerc

3,277 posts

140 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
quotequote all

Eric Mc

124,926 posts

289 months

Thursday 12th September 2019
quotequote all
Red 4 said:
Eric Mc said:
Tunnan is the Swedish for barrell.
What are your thoughts on it, Eric ?

A Shooting Star was also part of the display ( same era).

The difference in performance and agility ( the Saab being much better ) was pretty evident from what I saw.

It may be a poor comparison but, as I say, over to you ...
It's a later design than the P-80 Shooting Star and benefited from the knowledge about wing sweep back that had emerged from Germany at the end of the war. The F-86 Sabre and MiG 15 are a better comparative.

The engine it was fitted with was a Swedish licence built version of the de Havilland Ghost, which was quite a tubby engine and one of the reasons for the portly fuselage.

Dr Jekyll

23,820 posts

285 months

Friday 13th September 2019
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Eric Mc said:
It's a later design than the P-80 Shooting Star and benefited from the knowledge about wing sweep back that had emerged from Germany at the end of the war. The F-86 Sabre and MiG 15 are a better comparative.
Kurt Tank's Ta-183 design seems to have been influential.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Ta_183

Eric Mc

124,926 posts

289 months

Friday 13th September 2019
quotequote all
Dr Jekyll said:
Kurt Tank's Ta-183 design seems to have been influential.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Ta_183
All of the German projects were looked at and ideas "borrowed". It has been said that the Ta153 also influenced the MiG 15.

Condi

19,796 posts

195 months

Friday 13th September 2019
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Eric Mc said:
All of the German projects were looked at and ideas "borrowed". It has been said that the Ta153 also influenced the MiG 15.
The WW2 German research into swept wing design and jet aircraft was found by both the Western Allies and Russia at the end of the war.

Different countries then built independent designs based on the information gained, and all produced very similar designs. It was only when the Mig15 was seen in combat for the first time that the Americans understood the Russians had found the same technical documents as they had.

mcdjl

5,698 posts

219 months

Friday 13th September 2019
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For a relatively low population the Swedes have managed to build some impressive aircraft over the years.

Eric Mc

124,926 posts

289 months

Friday 13th September 2019
quotequote all
Condi said:
The WW2 German research into swept wing design and jet aircraft was found by both the Western Allies and Russia at the end of the war.

Different countries then built independent designs based on the information gained, and all produced very similar designs. It was only when the Mig15 was seen in combat for the first time that the Americans understood the Russians had found the same technical documents as they had.
The benefits of sweeping the wings for aircraft approaching the speed of sound had been common knowledge in theoretical aeronautics since the mid 1930s. However, the state of the art of high sped aircraft in that era and for most of World War 2 meant that there were no designs that could really benefit from it. Swept wings emerged on real aircraft at the time they were needed. The Germans had done the most and best work on the concept using their supersonic wind tunnels and it was that wind tunnel data that proved most beneficial to the Allies after World War 2.

Red 4

Original Poster:

10,744 posts

211 months

Friday 13th September 2019
quotequote all
mcdjl said:
For a relatively low population the Swedes have managed to build some impressive aircraft over the years.
The Tunnan was followed by a Viggen at the display.

That was followed by a Typhoon.

The way aircraft have developed and their capability/ agility have improved over the years was pretty well defined by just watching those three.

jimmyjimjim

8,078 posts

262 months

Friday 13th September 2019
quotequote all
Red 4 said:
mcdjl said:
For a relatively low population the Swedes have managed to build some impressive aircraft over the years.
The Tunnan was followed by a Viggen at the display.

That was followed by a Typhoon.

The way aircraft have developed and their capability/ agility have improved over the years was pretty well defined by just watching those three.
Didn't the Swedes get a lot of techincal assistance from the US for at least one of the Tunnan/Viggen/Draken developments

AER

1,145 posts

294 months

Monday 16th September 2019
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mcdjl said:
For a relatively low population the Swedes have managed to build some impressive aircraft over the years.
'tis a symptom of their non-aligned status as a country and their emphasis on neutrality. Even today, Sweden is not a full NATO member.

Edward Snowden and Julian Assange think that Sweden is America's lap-dog though.

aeropilot

39,791 posts

251 months

Monday 16th September 2019
quotequote all
Condi said:
Eric Mc said:
All of the German projects were looked at and ideas "borrowed". It has been said that the Ta153 also influenced the MiG 15.
The WW2 German research into swept wing design and jet aircraft was found by both the Western Allies and Russia at the end of the war.

Different countries then built independent designs based on the information gained, and all produced very similar designs. It was only when the Mig15 was seen in combat for the first time that the Americans understood the Russians had found the same technical documents as they had.
Despite having those technical documents, the Mig15 wouldn't have appeared that quickly over Korea to make use of that aero information, had the pro-USSR Attlee lead Govt not authorised RR to sell 50 odd Nene's to the USSR, enabling Klimov to reverse engineer them to create the VK-1 engine for the Mig15.

Eric Mc

124,926 posts

289 months

Monday 16th September 2019
quotequote all
Wasn't the F-86 engine a derivative of a British one too?

aeropilot

39,791 posts

251 months

Monday 16th September 2019
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
Wasn't the F-86 engine a derivative of a British one too?
No.

You maybe thinking of the F-9 Panther naval jet, that used a US license built version of the Nene.