Saab 21
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| SAAB 21 | |
|---|---|
 Saab A 21A-3 |
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| Type | Fighter and attack aircraft |
| Manufacturer | SAAB |
| Maiden flight | 1943 |
| Introduced | 1945 |
| Retired | 1954 |
| Primary user | Swedish Air Force |
| Produced | 1945-1949 |
| Number built | 298 |
| Variants | Saab 21R |
The Saab 21 was a Swedish fighter/attack aircraft from SAAB that first took to the air in 1943. It was described as a very efficient weapons platform. It was designed as a twin boom pusher configuration, where the propeller is mounted in the rear of the fuselage, pushing the aircraft forward.
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[edit] Design and development
The advantages of a "pushprop" are that the view forward is unobstructed and armament can be concentrated in the nose, while a major drawback is difficulty in escaping from the aircraft in an emergency, as the pilot could get drawn into the propeller blades. This led to the development of an early non-patented ejector seat, which later created problems with Martin Baker who acquired the patent themselves.
In 1947, the aircraft was redesigned and fitted with a De Havilland Goblin turbojet and acquired the new designation Saab 21R.
[edit] Variants
- J 21A-1
- First production series of fighter version. 54 built between 1945 and 1946, retired in 1949.
- J 21A-2
- Second and third production series of fighter version (62 aircraft each built between 1946 and 1947). Aircraft had better avionics and was armed with a Swedish 20 mm gun. Retired between 1953 and 1954.
- A 21A-3
- First and second production series of attack version (66 aircraft each built between 1947 and 1949). Aircraft was basically J 21A-2 equipped with bomb aiming sight, was able to use two RATO rockets, and was armed with unguided rockets and bombs.
- J 21B
- Planned version armed with three 20 mm nose guns, radar in the starboard boom, improved aerodynamics and Daimler-Benz DB 605E or Rolls-Royce Griffon engines. [1] None built.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Survivors
Three aircraft are preserved;
- A 21A-3, serial 21286 rebuilt into a A 21R, on permanent static display at the Swedish Air Force Museum
- A 21A-3, serial 21311, on permanent static display as a J 21A-3 at F 15 Söderhamn Flygmuseum
- A 21A-3, serial 21364, on permanent static display at the Swedish Air Force Museum
[edit] Specifications (Saab 21A-3)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.Data from {Billing, Peter. "A Fork-Tailed Swede"}
General characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Length: 10.45 m (34 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 11.6 m (38 ft 0 in)
- Height: 3.97 (13 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 22.2 m² (238.87 ft²)
- Empty weight: 3,250 kg (7,165 lb)
- Loaded weight: 4,150 kg (9,149 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 4,413 kg (9,730 lb)
- Powerplant: 1× Daimler-Benz DB 605B, built by SFA. liquid-cooled, supercharged, 60° inverted V12 engine, 1,085 kW (1,455 hp)[2]
Performance
- Maximum speed: 640 km/h (343 knots, 398 mph)
- Cruise speed: 495 km/h (308 mph)
- Service ceiling 11,000 m (36,090 ft)
- Rate of climb: 15 m/s (2,950 ft/min)
Armament
- 1× 20 mm Hispano or Bofors cannon
- 2× 13 mm Bofors-built Colt machine guns in the nose
- 2× 13 mm Bofors-built Colt machine guns in the wing
- Various bombs and rockets
[edit] See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Billing, Peter. "A Fork-Tailed Swede." AIR Enthusiast Twenty-two, August-November 1983. Bromley, Kent, UK: Pilot Press Ltd., 1983.
- Erichs, Rolph, Hammerich, Kai, Rapp, Gudmund et al. The Saab-Scania Story. Stockholm: Streiffert & Co., 1988. ISBN 91-7886-014-8.
- This Happens in the Swedish Air Force (brochure). Stockholm: Information Department of the Air Staff, Flygstabens informationsavdelning, Swedish Air Force, 1983.
- Widfeldt, Bo. The Saab 21 A & R (Aircraft in Profile number 138). Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1966.
[edit] External links
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