Saab 21

infobox Aircraft
name =SAAB 21
type =Fighter and attack aircraft
manufacturer =SAAB



caption =Saab A 21A-3
designer =
first flight = 1943
introduced = 1945
retired = 1954
status =
primary user = Swedish Air Force
more users =
produced = 1945-1949
number built = 298
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = 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.

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.

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. [ [http://www.canit.se/~griffon/aviation/text/21saab.htm Saab 21 ] ] None built.

Operators

;SWE
* Swedish Air Force

urvivors

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

pecifications (Saab 21A-3)

aircraft specifications
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop
ref={Billing, Peter. "A Fork-Tailed Swede"}
crew= one, pilot
capacity=
length main= 10.45 m
length alt= 34 ft 3 in
span main= 11.6 m
span alt= 38 ft 0 in
height main= 3.97
height alt= 13 ft 0 in
area main= 22.2 m²
area alt= 238.87 ft²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 3,250 kg
empty weight alt= 7,165 lb
loaded weight main= 4,150 kg
loaded weight alt= 9,149 lb
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 4,413 kg
max takeoff weight alt= 9,730 lb
more general=

engine (prop)=Daimler-Benz DB 605B, built by SFA.
type of prop= liquid-cooled, supercharged, 60° inverted V12 engine
number of props=1
power main= 1,085 kW
power alt= 1,455 hp
power original= [1,475 PS in original]

max speed main= 640 km/h
max speed alt= 343 knots, 398 mph
cruise speed main= 495 km/h
cruise speed alt= 308 mph
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main=
range alt=
ceiling main= 11,000 m
ceiling alt= 36,090 ft
climb rate main= 15 m/s
climb rate alt= 2,950 ft/min
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=
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
avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=
* Saab 21R

similar aircraft=
* Curtiss XP-55 Ascender
* Kyūshū J7W
* Vultee XP-54 Swoose Goose

|sequence=
Saab 17 - MFI-15 Safari - Saab 18 - Saab 21 - Saab 21R - Saab 29 Tunnan - Saab 32 Lansen - J 35 Draken - Saab 37 Viggen - Saab 39 Gripen

lists=
* List of fighter aircraft
* List of military aircraft of Sweden

References

Notes

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.

External links

* [http://www.canit.se/~griffon/aviation/text/21saab.htm SAAB 21 story]