Saab 29 Tunnan

what is it?

The Saab 29 Tunnan ("The Barrel"), colloquially Flygande Tunnan, or The Flying Barrel in English, 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.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 jet engine · 11 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,060 km/htop speed
• range 1,100 kmwithout refuelling
• size 8,375 kgmax take-off weight
• built 661made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 78 years ago, in 1948.
• 🏎️Top speed is 8.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 11 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,100 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.8× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1948-09-01

introduced

1950

retired

1976

status

retired

number built

661

role

fighter

origin

🇸🇪 Sweden

makers

Saab Group

engines

1× Svenska Flygmotor RM2B / de Havilland Ghost

crew

1

length

10.2 m

wingspan

11 m

height

3.8 m

max take-off weight

8,375 kg

top speed

1,060 km/h

range

1,100 km

ceiling

15,500 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.