Saab 29 Tunnan.
Discussion
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
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 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 ...
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 ...
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.
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
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.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Ta_183
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.
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.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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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