The Experimental Swedish WW2 Fighter - Saab 21

[@aviationdeepdive]

Check out Variable Static Audio's high quality headphones! www.variablestaticaudio.com Feel free to join our Discord community! - discord.gg/WCevgcufwJ Consider supporting us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/AviationDeepDive

[@MarijnRoorda]

I am curious,... @ 12:33 What exactly was that picture on the left of the magazine? And should that really be part of a KZbin video?

[@hansstromberg5330]

The J 21 made an immense impact on me when I was six (being 78 by now). I spent my childhood summers at my maternal grandmother´s summer house in Mönsterås, some 40 km north of Kalmar, where was the then F 12 wing based. One morning I heard a strange noise, a growl coming from the south. Suddenly four, nay, eight wonderful machines appeared, low, so low that I could see branches from the fir-trees flying. Then the aicraft had to pull up to clear a 30-metre high ridge, leaving broken branches behind. Day after day, they came back, in pairs in squadron formation. They were J 21 fighters from Kalmar and made me an aviation buff, an aviation historian and eventually a pilot, albeit a private one. My former wife once said that that there is only one thing that kan make me look up from a book that I am reding: The sound of an aeroplane. She is probably right. Hans Strömberg, Aviation journalist,Stockholm Sweden

[@Hartley_Hare]

What a fantastic story - thanks so much for sharing that.

[@aviationdeepdive]

Thanks for your comment, very well written

[@Farweasel]

I may have unsuspected spritiual older brother who was brought up in Sweden instead of England. 🙄 As a lad, if my nose was in a book my mum said I just went deaf to the world - she wasn't sure at first if I was simply ignoring her but decided I was geuine when she offerred me chance to double my pocket money and I didn't react at all. but We lived under one of the flight paths the guys testing English Electric Lightnings. There would be a distant faint howl of a Rolls Royce Spey engine and I was up, outside and looking for it in seconds.

[@_NaLo_]

As a Saab 21 fan, I'd like to correct a couple of details: 15:30 The designers of the ejection seat in the Saab 21 were not aware of the existence of German ejection seats until years later, they were invented independently. 17:40 The prototype's landing gear did hit the fence, but it DID actually take off on that attempt (it did not get stuck in the fence). Once in the air it successfully retracted the landing gear and made its way to Malmslätt (where the runway was longer than the one at Saab's airfield), and that's where it made its first landing with the aforementioned brake failure. Source: Flyghistorisk revy nr. 29, 1981.

[@Niinsa62]

I still think it was amazing that Swedish engineers, beginning basically from scratch with no experience of how to build modern fighter aircraft, in just a few years managed to come up with something that was at least average, when compared to the best in the world. That was a very steep hill to climb!

[@bofomalsi4146]

Saab hired American aircraft engineers at the start-up of the company.

[@JTA1961]

We've all been guilty of falling for a good Saab story...

[@NoManClatuer-pd8ck]

That was so terrible, I'm saabing right now. 😭

[@johncashwell1024]

I was called a Saab, once!

[@NoManClatuer-pd8ck]

@@johncashwell1024 😂nice👍

[@duellingscarguevara]

I drove one once, (working at a muffler shop)..70's number..button brake pedal, very nice, I thought.

[@rastarn]

I suspect you have transgressed the unwritten rule with this pun, and need to be punished.

[@TheLateBird7]

Wow, you've outdone yourself with this episode! Applause for all involved. I visited the Linköping museum last year and enjoyed the striking presence of both the prop and the jet variant.

[@aviationdeepdive]

Thanks very much!

[@matttrafton2725]

You should say tack mycket.

[@Snobiker13]

The Swedish aviation unit in the Winter War was F19, not F13. F13 was the Östgöta air force wing at Bråvalla.

[@rudolfabelin383]

Thanks! So glad to see my late friend Claes Smith mentioned. He also flew in food supplies together with his old friend Count Carl Gustaf von Rosen (whom I also knew), tree top level with a DC-6. See Dr Mark Felton for a recently published episode about Count von Rosen.

[@nzxt1234]

wow thats amazing von Rosen was a legend!!! the thing he did!!

[@UnclePutte]

As they say, "one has to start somewhere". The bit about the acquisition of german plans was particularily fascinating.

[@andersnilsson7917]

The J22 shown in the beginning was developed by FFVS, the air force's experimental division. Designed as an emergency fighter it was constructed mostly out of wood, featuring a steel wing beam. It used an unlicensed Swedish copy of the P&W R-1800 developing about 900 hp. Top speed was about 600 km/h, not bad given the limitations. Outdated before it entered service, it gave Sweden valuable experience in developing and producing military aircraft. One sample has been renovated to flying condition.

[@lightbox617]

I'd rather be comenting on your post but, I am always grateful to see a manufacturer making repairable tech

[@aviationdeepdive]

You and me both!

[@wolfganggugelweith8760]

Very interesting stuff! In Austria 🇦🇹 Europe we had the Saab 29 Tunnan (Fliegende Tonne), after the SAAB 105 and the SAAB Draken. There is a Museum on the Airbase of Zeltweg where we have the Typhoon Eurofighter stationed. It’s the hangar 8 and the entrance is from outside for all interested people. In September 2023 I had the opportunity to sit in the Saab Draken there. There are a lot of different planes to see, even from WWII like the T-6 Texan and so on. Greetings from Linz Austria 🇦🇹 Europe! 😎👍🫡🪖💙🍀🐺

[@ErikEdwall]

Danke och bin deutch ont swedich so ich weis gans viel!

[@spikbebis]

Amazing, finding that Blandaren, didnt expect that!

[@PSPaaskynen]

I always thought this aircraft design looked suspiciously like the Fokker D.XXIII of 1939 (which also pioneered an ejection seat). Kudos for this video, which contained a treasure trove of little known aerotidbits.

[@DdDd-ss3ms]

My first thought too, Indeed it looks like a one engine version of the Fokker D.XXIII

[@Mrloberg]

Fantastic video! Love the J21. Ther was a plan in Sweden to renovate a J21 so it coud fly again. But the museum said no. Afraide it coud crash and be lost. There is not a lot left. ❤

[@patrickroos739]

Just a small correction, you got the numbers mixed up on the Caproni, it was Ca 113, not 133, and it was not only a bomber but served in 4 different roles. B16 (bomber), S16 (recon), T16 (torpedo), Tp16 (transport), but yes it was crap... Great work, thanks!!

[@Complicatorius]

It was nicknamed "the flying coffin" in the air force.

[@Soundbrigade]

Göteborgs Spårvägar (Gothenburg Tramways) got a bunch of ”Caproni type” streetcars from Italy. Just as reliable as the Ca 113’s 🙄

[@chrisedwards196]

I have to say the Saab Lansen bears a more striking resemblance to the Messerschmitt P1110 more to the point of an almost direct copy. The Me P1101 was the basis for many post war jets, including the F86 Saber & the Saab Tunnan (barrel). The US even built their own Me P1101, the Bell X5, which was also practically a direct copy of the P1101 but with inflight adjustable swing wing rather than the Messerschmitt's ground adjusted fitting. Good vid all the same.

[@patrickroos739]

Btw the J22 was a really good fighter and in service already in 1943, the J21 was just kept for making up numbers, then already in april 1945 we got the P-51D (J26) further relegating the 21. However it gave us an opportunity to get going with Jet propulsion through the J21R, that and its ejection seat was probably its contributions to swedish fighter history.

[@tomascarlsson961]

This was super interesting! Thanks for making such a good video! As a Swedish person I’m immensely proud of our aviation industry. This plane has fascinated me ever since I built a model of it as a teenager. Maybe it was a bit of a dead end, but a very cool design. Cheers!

[@Hartley_Hare]

I'm English, but absolutely fascinated by Scandinavia in general and by its aviation industry. The way designers in Sweden and Finland solved particular problems in unorthodox ways is fascinating, and the Draken is still one of my favourite planes. I'm lucky enough to have one in a museum about an hour away, and it's even more beautiful close up.

[@matttrafton2725]

I while ago I built a twinned J-21R model. The tail less central boom had a rocket booster. Love that ventral gun pod.

[@PaletoB]

Swedish aircraft naming: J - Jakt - *Hunting*. Basically means fighter/interceptor aircraft. A - Attack - *Ground attack* S - Spaning - *Reconnaissance* B - Bombning - *Bomber* And the higher number the newer it is 😄

[@someoneelse7629]

Except the 91 and 105, the 9 series indicate a civil procuct and the 91 Safir was intended as a civil fourseater before it became a miilitary trainer, the 105 was intended as a four seat buisness-jet, but the airforce needed a jet-trainer so it morphed into that role during development. I have flown both and they are very nice planes

[@darkiee69]

Sk - Skolflygplan - *Trainer*

[@Nails077]

I think it might be more appropriate to translate Jakt into Pursuit. Brings it more in line with english naming conventions for the period.

[@emm4rmstrong]

@@Nails077 As far as I know, "Pursuit" was an American term, with the British using the term "Fighter" instead. Though the French "Avion de Chasse," or hunting plane, and influence of French aviation doctrine on US doctrine is why the US used the term "Pursuit," would make the use of "pursuit" an arguably acceptable translation, I would still use "Fighter" instead though as the purpose of translating is to take a word or phrase and turn it into something an audience speaking another language understands. More English speakers will understand what a fighter aircraft is than will understand what a pursuit aircraft is, and those who do understand what a pursuit aircraft is are also likely to understand that pursuit and fighter are interchangeable.

[@Nails077]

@@emm4rmstrongI'm thinking that almost every time a swede translates "jakt" to "hunt" when describing fighter jets. "Jakt" can be translated to hunt, chase, or pursuit. I think when trying to explain to an english speaker what the letter means, the more helpful translation is probably the word pursuit. I don't know if calling something a hunting plane is all that clear, and a chase plane is already something entirely different. A pursuit aircraft on the other hand? That should be pretty clear to an english speaker.

[@astrafaan]

Something about this plane, and the jet version that I've always really liked

[@petesheppard1709]

Most excellent! Thank you. The Swedish aircraft industry of the 1940s had some odd designs, but were a great springboard to the awesome designs that have come since.

[@soderstadion77]

Amazing research, thank you!

[@KimKhan]

The Italian bomber was infamous in the Air Force well into the 1960's by word of mouth, even it last flight was years ago. "The Flying Coffin" was the nickname, and word was that "one does not lend money to a B16 flyer".

[@pizzagogo6151]

Good upload, definitely a neglected subject in the story of 1940s aviation. Well done.( personally of all the pushers I’ve always been obsessed with the Kyushu Shinden, unfortunately just a footnote cause the prototypes never got developed or even test flown properly )

[@Zeithri]

Fascinating story! I thoroughly enjoyed learning the history of my country ^^

[@davebowman6497]

Your conversion of 68,500 Swedish Krona to USD "in todays value" seems to be completely wrong. We can go about this in two ways: Way one: Calculate the 68,500 to todays value in SEK (i e taking inflation into account) and then convert to USD using the current exchange rate. The 1940's 68,500 would be roughly 21 million SEK today, and just ballparking the exchange rate to 10 SEK for 1 USD ends up with 2 million USD. Way two: Get the exchange rate for SEK to USD around the 1940's. Convert the 68,500 SEK. Then find US inflation data from the 1940's to now. I'm lazy so I didn't do that. But I'd be surprised if that would end up with something close to 300,000 USD. The wrong way to do it (in case that is how your number was calculated): Converting 68,500 SEK to USD using a current exchange rate and then applying US inflation from the 1940's to now on that number.

[@davebowman6497]

Well I'll be darned.. I overcame my laziness and got some numbers on the web. Method two above ends up at roughly 360,000 USD for me. The difference in the results of the two ways of calculating this was much larger than I expected. One should be neither stubborn (in this sense) nor prestigious so I stand corrected! Wikipedia deletes posts with anything resrmbling web links in them, so I haven't posted sources for my calculations. I can try that if requested. The short version is. Method one: With respect to inflation, one SEK in 1940 is 31 SEK in 2024. I used the rough exchange rate of 10 SEK to 1 USD. Metod two: I found an exchange rate of about 0.238 USD per 1 SEK in 1940. An online inflation calculator calculated the 16,303 USD from 1940 to be 359,150 USD today.

[@mattiskardell]

finally someone who doesnt get jakt completly wrong(its just hunt btw)

[@mr.inconspicuous6395]

I commend the effort for pronouncing the different names and places, especially the easily translatable ones like "flygmuseum" (flight museum/ aircraft museum).

[@richmorg8196]

You knew that the emergency parachute worked if the breaks failed

[@fredmyers120]

Great footage!

[@kevinbashnick]

good job great video I subscribed

[@lookatmySB]

Looks like a fun device on the lefthand page at 12:39

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

I hope the Swedish Zero and the L 23 will be introduced in War Thunder.

[@hakanaxlund4316]

Thanks for a great story.

[@jimmygadd]

1:23 the right name for the wing is F19, F13 is Norrköping

[@EdHunter55]

The top picture at 06:49 is a Koolhoven FK-55. The FK_55 might have been an inspiration for the ASJA L-13 but I've not seen evidence of this.

[@Maring0418]

Amazing research! I was raised near F9 airbase in Gothenburg, where the J21 served for some years. Really interesting and detailed work here. "Pedan" hahaha. Couldn't you have listened to the words in like Google translate first? It would've given the finishing touch to an otherwise great documentary :-).

[@hanfazzi4429]

Actually in The Netherlands early 1940 there was a prototype with similar configuration almost ready when the Germans invaded and destroyed the planes. It was called De Schelde S21 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Schelde_S.21

[@damienmaynard8892]

Bofors 40mm guns were sold to Germany and the Allies by Sweden - like they had a choice? Swedes and Finns - using others rejects to good effect for over 100 years as well as building their own winners. Sweden ended up paying $1 for the P&W licence. L23 - Looks a bit like the Finns Pyrromyrsky. He-219 had ejector seats.

[@bofomalsi4146]

The Bofors anti-aircraft gun was illegally copied (and much improved) by the Americans during WW2.

[@samuel242424]

good video

[@mellertid]

The wing-tip fuel tanks on A 21A-3 could be dropped as incendiary bombs. Nifty.

[@kidmohair8151]

oh those Swedes. they've got a plane for everything.

[@Soundbrigade]

But our latest one JAS is made to play three different roles. But else we’re often planing ahead.😊

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

Sweden sure has made some weird planes, weird cars, weird music, weird furniture but they're great at meatballs. 😋

[@life_of_riley88]

Excellent small arms though!

[@ashbirk4681]

Have you seen the Grippen? That things a beast

[@Zeithri]

I recommend two things; 1. Travel to Sweden and preferably start in Stockholm and then move upwards to our more forested areas. I think you'd enjoy the trip of seeing the difference from big city to forest! 2. Sample Swedish cuisine, such as the famous Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Sauce and Lingonjam. But also try Falukorv and Macaronies or another pasta variation. Our bland yet surprisingly tasty foods! But also watch the funny clip from Babylon 5 regarding _Swedish Meatballs_ 😉

[@Soundbrigade]

@@ZeithriNO! Start in Gothenburg, the friendly front face of Sweden and travel North. Go for retroplaces like cafes, motels restaurants museums. If you se a sign hinting a place of interest - Stop and have a look around.

[@svenskenh644]

”but”??

[@andersknapasjo9576]

Could the "anonymous man" Wennstrom met in Switzerland by any chance be Messeschmidt engineer Woldemar Voight, who later designed Vought's death trap, F7U Cutlass

[@Jacob-er1tt]

20:11 jakt only means hunt not hunter, jägare is hunter.

[@pagedown4195]

Sweden sailed through WW2 quiet nicely selling iron ore and ball bearings to Germany. The Wallebergs played it smart 😉

[@S1337theoddoneout-ip9xc]

Is amazing how Saab can design the most box-standard, traditional, boring and brown looking cars, But their fighter design are outside and all round the box. I wish they'll let Saab have a space program.

[@persjofors2586]

Confusing SAAB cars with Volvo?

[@S1337theoddoneout-ip9xc]

@@persjofors2586 Well, when i think of Saab cars i think of the Saab 900 (which is kinda boring looking to me), come to think of it, it does look like a Volvo, so yeah... maybe. Luckily i'm more into Saab's aircraft and just discovering their submarines.

[@persjofors2586]

@@S1337theoddoneout-ip9xcUnderstandable

[@Hiznogood]

@@S1337theoddoneout-ip9xcWhat? Hahaha no … compare a SAAB 900 with the same era Volvo 240 and then tell me if the SAAB looks boxy? But if you compare the 900 with the old 93 or 96 V4 then yes it looks more boxy.

[@darkiee69]

You have to look underneath the skin to find the goodies, like the first production car with turbo, variable compression and other things.

[@davidcarr7436]

It Saab, so no matter what; it's got a great warranty.

[@tonzelle2720]

This resembles the Fokker D XXIII for a bit...

[@AlfCalson]

SAAB 🇸🇪

[@filipchniti9931]

Can you make a video about the Saab 18?

[@tommytwotacos8106]

So, they made a Vultee Swoosh Goose?

[@peterharrington8709]

Nit pick, but Australia has never been 'bolted on' to SE Asia.... like India, it's moving up towards Asia, but hasn't arrived yet! That said.... cracking presentation 👍

[@iffracem]

Antarctica, Australia, India and SE Asia in pre-Cambrian times were all part of one big lump called "Rodinia" that broke apart at one point. So yeah, not really "bolted on" but "fell apart"

[@arigronqvist651]

There was almost 50% off armament in those booms (1 13,2 mm in one) ..so not all in the nose..

[@NightmareGbg]

F19 not F13.

[@leboi8528]

nice hands bro

[@aviationdeepdive]

aint no way-

[@KimKhan]

After the war, SAAB had a representative meat with a foreign company executive and present a brief case full of money - worth about what a license would have cost (and a bit more) for the illegal use of the engine.

[@adamwishneusky]

Right to repair is nice but I don’t think I’ve ever had any electronics without a motor break 😛

[@aviationdeepdive]

I mean headphones can break all the time. Whether they get dropped, or sat on, or get wet. It's not just the electronics, it's every single component.

[@davebowman6497]

It's "Per Albin Hansson", with a 'b' in "Albin".

[@AlperBakmaz]

I played War Thunder with this plane for 200 hours. speed 640km. climbing rate is 14 meters. Wing breaks after 640 km. J21A-1's 13.2mm machine gun cannonball deals damage. The j21a-1 13.2mm is superior to the American Browning machine gun. BF-109, FW-190, BF-110 German machine guns fire water guns. Russian machine guns create fire at close range. The 13.2mm machine gun could even be superior to the German and Russian 15mm and 20mm guns. There are 5 cannons on this plane. It shoots like a 13.2mm laser. You can see where you are shooting even from far away. I shot a P-38 from 1.6km with a War Thunder J21A-1. A player with War Thunder J21A-1 accidentally shot the pilot of the BF-109 at 19km. There are 5 cannons on this plane

[@komocka]

During the Cold War, 600 aircrew members died in the Swedish Air Force.

[@bjorno7573]

Sorry…. But the Swedish squadron fighting in Finland during the winter war in Gloster Gladiators was designated F19… not F13.

[@richardfalconer1959]

For the Saab 21 they bought Mercedes Benz engines from the Nazis. Unfortunately these had been assembled by slave labour and had been sabotaged. Unsurprisingly this lead to accidents ....

[@johanmetreus1268]

l must say your Swedish pronunciation is generally quite impressive in a manner most English speaking channels do not come close to, and would generally be easily understood by a native speaker. Be aware though that the Swedish letters å, ä and ö are distinctive vowels, with the following English approximations: Å,å ~ awe Ä,ä ~ air Ö,ö ~ burn

[@aviationdeepdive]

Thanks a lot, I tried to get it right. Thanks for those pointers, I'll keep them in mind!

[@johanmetreus1268]

@@aviationdeepdive I made a typo, the post was meant to say you surpass the others, not that you are merely on par with them. Fixed that now. Same letters pop in German, Finnish and the other Nordic languages, though Danish and Norwegian uses the Ø instead of Ö. Hopefully it'll be of some use :)

[@Lonkka665]

7:00 B-18 looks WAY more Dornier Do-17Z than Ju-88...

[@MrKLindholm]

Well. We finns still managed to go #NATO.

[@godfree2canada]

jet version?

[@patrickporter1864]

Yup only design to fly both as a jet and a prop.

[@davebowman6497]

Not the only one, AFAIK. Also the Yak-3 into the Yak-15.

[@reedreamer9518]

Why would anyone buy headphones (3:00) from a company with "static" in their name?

[@aviationdeepdive]

Because Static has multiple meanings, and in this context it means 'not moving'.

[@Man2530vision]

FANTASTIC AIR FIGHTER

[@Cookie_88-v3b]

J21 not L21

[@perhewupini6318]

Finland was not a hostile country to Sweden. To my knollidge Sweden sold iron ore and ball bearings to Germany.

[@平田桂-s3p]

Yes it did because German ball bearing factories were strategically bombed by allies.

[@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665]

They also sold them to the UK... and shipped them and the odd agent in the converted bomb bays of a flight of civilian Dh Mosquitoes flown by BOAC pilots. 😁🇬🇧🧙‍♂️ That meant flying over the N Sea and Occupied Norway dodging and outrunning german flack and fighters ...

[@nzxt1234]

its amazing to think how importat ballbearings were and is its someting ppl dont think about @@clivestainlesssteelwomble7665

[@hansstromberg5330]

The volontary, though government-backed Swedish air contribution ton Finland was named F 21, "flygflottilj 21", I.E. Air Wing 21, though it was hardly a squadron, even less a wing, rather just a Flight (to use RAF termology). Just as a side-note. Hans Strömberg, Stockholm

[@_NaLo_]

No, it was F 19. F 21 is Norrbottens flygflottilj (which still exists today).

[@lawrencelewis2592]

Does Saab still build aircraft?

[@Pakicetus_]

Yes, look at their Saab Gripen.

[@knoll9812]

L23 looks good. However razor back day was done. I think the swedes should designed / stole as close to 190 as possible

[@chrisazure1624]

How would you bail out?

[@aviationdeepdive]

Addressed in the video!

[@mycosys]

A best mispronunciation of the ep comp could be fun XD (We're Aussies, may as well lean into it eh? XD )

[@aviationdeepdive]

Ah man these Swedish words are something else haha!

[@menudaluna962]

Complitley surrounden by hostile?, Sweden was so called neutral but helpt alot the germans so they where allies, they also had a division in the German army.

[@OrjanGrahn]

Looking like a tourtouse... .....better way to be really sneaky then smell and act like a slightly drunk Sean Connery. 😊

[@LastGoatKnight]

For me, it isn't. I really like the design of this vehicle. Both in the prop and in the jet version

[@user-oi9vh1po9z]

we swedes were not ready for world war!

[@cmbaileytstc]

War is a racket. Neutral Sweden showed us that for decades and no one noticed.

[@geordiedog1749]

Spot on!

[@Hartley_Hare]

I like a bit of Smedley Butler in the morning...

[@Triggernlfrl]

Some see racket as perfect economic model....

[@Renshen1957]

Sweden Sold iron ore to Germany through out the war, and the hospital train to Denmark for humanitarian purposes was full of Nazi Wehrmacht troop and arms.

[@mickroyton6447]

Should have been a jet

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Patriotism can be very expensive.

[@iz3508]

So can survival..

[@lalleno1]

Va då f13

[@joshm3484]

Has Sabb ever done anything normal?

[@davebowman6497]

"SAAB". Two A's, one B, all caps (it's an abbreviation of "Svenska Aeroplan AktieBolaget", roughly "Swedish Aeroplane Company Ltd").

[@Snobiker13]

Yes, the Saab 17, Saab 91 Safir, Saab 90 Skandia, Saab Supporter, Saab Safari, Saab 32 Lansen, Saab 340 and Saab 2000.

[@nattygsbord]

SAAB 32 Lansen looks quite normal, but it was also a plane with unremarkable performance. We would have used it for dropping napalm and nuclear bombs on russia had they attacked us during the Cold war. SAAB Globaleye is a spy plane, with Swedish electronics and radar on top of a Canadian bombardier plane. Its one of the best AWACS planes in the world.

[@joshm3484]

Aside from the typo, I actually don't know much about their planes, just their cars. Things like the wrap-around windscreen, reversed engine placement, gearbox for a removable clutch, early use of turbocharging, doors designed to push away snow, massive cargo space, steel reinforced roof, early use of disc brakes on all wheels, dual front wishbone suspension...and I haven't even mentioned the aesthetics. They always did things their own way a few decades before everyone else.

[@nattygsbord]

@@joshm3484 Indeed. I think it is impressive that they built a plane like Draken that could fly at Mach2 just 10 years after WW2 ended. A plane that could do cobra manouvers decades before russia "invented" that skill. Viggen was a pretty powerful single engine attack aircraft that intercepted a SR-71 Blackbird. And today I would say that the company have reached its peak with Gripen E that is the best fighter jet in the world in my mind (aside from F22 which is decades younger and not for sale). And all the missiles SAAB made are also wonders by themselves, the Meteor missile was originally a Swedish idea for example and today it considered the best air-to-air missile in the world.

[@godfree2canada]

expensive planes in WarThunder unless you're German

[@coreyandnathanielchartier3749]

Sweden didn't seem to suffer from any qualms about selling strategic war materials to anyone so interested. So much for neutrality. And on another note, Saab builds butt-ugly cars.

[@remcoasselbergs3298]

Fokker G1.. better than everything germany had. Sadly, netherlands had too few....

[@cordellej]

anything under 15mm is NOT a cannon

[@aviationdeepdive]

That's not true, different countries and military branches have different definitions of what a cannon is.

[@cordellej]

@@aviationdeepdive every country has cannons above 15mm . 13mm is a heavy machine gun even in your own video YOU started of calling it a 13mm cannon then later in the SAME video you called it a 13mm machine gun you yourself proves that you are confused

[@aviationdeepdive]

The Browning FN 13.2mm was referred as by by it's manufacturer as a 'shell-firing gun', or a 'cannon', and then later, when a license built version of it was made by the Swedes, as a heavy machine gun - which is why I use different terminology to refer to it depending on when I introduce it. There is no one definition of what a cannon is. The Browning FN 13.2mm was considered a cannon by some because it fired high-explosive shells and thus had characteristics closer to a 20mm Hispano or an Oerlikon than an M2 Browning. When the Swedes later introduced their own license built copy of it, the akan m/39, they designated it an HMG, because of it's calibre - but that was chronologically after I introduced it. At that time it was known by it's manufacturers designation, which is what I used. There is no objective definition of what a cannon is. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service considered everything up until 20mm to a machine gun, whilst the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service considered a cannon to mean 'a gun of 40mm or above'. This was because to the Navy, with their 100mm naval cannons, the word meant something different. So, again, there are no objective definitions here. It just depends on who you ask. @@cordellej

[@cordellej]

@@aviationdeepdive m/39A, is a variant of the Mitrailleuse d'Avion Browning - F.N. Calibre 13,2 mm heavy airplane machine gun.

[@cordellej]

@@aviationdeepdive Browning Aircraft Machine Gun - F.N. Caliber 13.2 mm (French: Mitrailleuse d'Avion Browning - F.N. Calibre 13,2 mm), more commonly known as the 13.2 mm FN Browning,[6] but also 13.2 mm Browning-F.N.,[2] F.N. Caliber 13.2 mm,[7] FN Browning M.1939 and the like, was a 13.2 mm (0.52 in) caliber, shell-firing, heavy machine gun for aircraft use,[2][1] designed by Fabrique Nationale (F.N.) in Herstal, Belgium, as a private export venture during the final years prior to World War II.[2]

[@reserva120]

You’re lack of nearly any Time line dates is very disappointing.. also the lack of how why a radical engine had “ unsolved cooling issues “..

[@janroelsmedes5014]

Fokker D23 ? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_D.XXIII