Posted on 03/19/2010 9:34:01 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Saab J 35 Draken turns 50
By admin | March 19th, 2010
Training on the new J 35 Draken jet began in March 1960 at the F 13 Bråvalla wing in Norrköping. This means that fifty years have now passed since the Draken – considered by many as one of the world’s most beautiful planes – was deployed by the Swedish Air Force.
The Draken, the first plane in Sweden to be designed for supersonic flight, was developed at the beginning of the 1950s. The first test flight was in 1955 and it broke the sound barrier for the first time in January of the following year.
On 15 January 1956, the Draken became the first Swedish plane to fly twice the speed of sound – Mach 2 – during a test at Saab in Linköping. The high speed was considered as very significant for the Draken because the plane’s primary mission was to quickly climb to high altitudes to intercept Russian bombers. Attack by high-altitude bombers was considered as a very real threat to Sweden during the Cold War.
Draken pilots from the 2nd Squadron, F 13 Bråvalla, in front of their planes in 1960. From left to right: Lennart Nordh (back row), Arne Ewertsson, Gunnar Lund, Sture Hermann, Pelle Fogde, Dag Hemberg, Sten Axelsson and Stellan Olsson. Photo: Bo Dahlin
Besides the technical successes, the Draken was also a sales success and the Saab military plane that had the most export customers until the Gripen broke the record. A total of 615 planes were produced, flown in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Austria and even by a few private companies in the US. Some of these Drakens, bought from the Danish Air Force, are still flying in the US. They can occasionally be seen in Hollywood war movies, usually as “mysterious enemies”.
In "Firebirds" - Nicholas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones, Sean Young.
Interesting photo. Tail strikes must have been common, since the tail strike preventor has dual bogies!
Arrgggghhh!!!
God, that was a shitty movie.
US Army trying to have their own “Top Gun”.
Crappier movie, but much less gay.
Even more beautiful when one considers when this design was first drawn. (late 50's or early 60's?). From an industrial art stand point, it still looks "modern".
Exactly and the A-10 is the leanest meanest most functional of them all..
At best a tolerable movie.
Operate it in a high threat environment and those exaggerations increase by several orders of magnitude.
You also omitted overhyped.
Sorry.. and the A-10 is the most beautiful of all too...
beautiful in the sense of a Bull Dagger(lesbian) in a crew cut with an AK-47...
At best a tolerable movie.
True and true, but it had a Saab Draken cameo, which is the only reason I remembered it.
I prefer the Jags with the overwing AAMs!!
I forgot about that feature of the old Jag. Thanks!
Saw these flying all the time as a kid in Halmstad Sweden. My father was a navigator in the plane before that, the Lansen. Was pretty cool how throughout the country, there would be these little country side Air stations on the highways. My mother a few years ago retired at the Halmstad airbase.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.