The Saab 29 Tunnan (The Barrel), colloquially also Flygande Tunnan (The Flying Barrel), is an early jet-powered fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Swedish aircraft manufacturer Saab. It was the second turbojet-powered combat aircraft to be developed in Sweden, the first being the Saab 21R, and it was the first Western European fighter to be produced with a swept wing after the Second World War, only being preceded in Western Europe as a whole by the Messerschmitt Me 262 built during the conflict. Work on what would become the Tunnan commenced in late 1945. The design, internally designated R 1001, had a barrel-like fuselage, giving it a destinctive rotund appearance, from which its name is derived. A relatively thin swept wing configuration was adopted after wartime aerodynamic research from Germany indicated its favourable high speed qualities. It was powered by the recently-developed de Havilland Ghost turbojet engine. The Swedish Air Force placed an initial order for three prototypes under the service designation J 29 during Autumn 1946. On 1 September 1948, the first prototype performed its maiden flight; flight testing proved the aircraft to exceed performance estimates in several aspects. During May 1951, Bråvalla Wing (F 13) received the first production aircraft. Five principal variants of the Tunnan were produced; the first model to enter service being the J 29A fighter, the more capable J 29B and J 29E fighters, and finally the afterburner-equipped J 29F fighter, which was the final fighter variant to be built. A dedicated aerial reconnaissance model, the S 29C, was also operated. During the 1960s, several J 29Bs saw combat while were stationed in the Republic of Congo as Sweden's contribution to a UN peacekeeping mission (ONUC). The Austrian Air Force also operated the type. In service, the J 29 proved to be relatively fast and agile. The Swedish Air Force operated the type in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles into the 1970s. The Saab 29 Tunnan was the first Swedish aircraft to be specifically designed to use jet propulsion. Sweden's first jet fighter, the Saab 21R, had been modified from the piston-engined Saab 21. It is a small, chubby aircraft with a single round air intake in the nose, with the pilot under a bubble canopy directly above the air intake duct on the upper-forward section of the fuselage. It has a very thin mid-mounted moderately swept two-spar wing which is a single structure attached to the fuselage by four bolts. The undercarriage is hydraulically operated, and was designed to be suitable for use from rough airstrips. To improve pilot survivability, the Tunnan used an ejection seat Saab developed in 1943, with an explosive jettisoning system for the canopy. The Tunnan is powered with a single 22.4 kN (5,000 lbf) de Havilland Ghost turbojet which have a top speed in excess of 1,050 km/h (650 mph), better performance than Sweden's de Havilland Vampires. The engine was bolted to the fuselage at three points and a special trolley was used to remove the engine for maintenance. The final version had an afterburner, the first successful one used with a British jet engine. A total of 661 units were built. Improvements were made to the wing to incorporate a dog-tooth leading edge, raising the critical Mach number. From 1963 onwards, all frontline J 29Fs were equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder infrared-seeking air-to-air missiles. For details of development, operational history and variants, click here.
