The SAAB 17 was the first all-metal aircraft developed in Sweden.
It was also to be the first aircraft built by SAAB, who had only been formed on the 2nd
of April 1937.
But before we talk about this aircraft, its worth taking a brief look at the general and
very confusing state of the Swedish aviation industry at this time, as it directly relates
to the development of this particular aircraft.
Throughout 1936 and 1937, questions and answers were being put forward on how to form a modern
Swedish aircraft industry.
In early 1937, In early 1937, representatives for some of the leading companies which had
expressed an interest in building up an aircraft industry were summoned to a meeting with the
Prime Minister.
The men represented the arms manufacturers Nohab and Bofors, the Götaverken shipyard
(already an aircraft manufacturer) and ASJA.
Unwilling to disclose any preferences or appearance of favouritism, it was decided that the best
solution would be the formation of a new company, however this too was also fraught with difficult
choices.
Before a final decision could be made, a third solution was presented.
Nohab and ASJA joined forces early in February and presented government with a joint alternative.
The idea was that Nohab would form a subsidiary, SAAB, and then SAAB and ASJA together would
then together form a new joint venture called the United Aircraft Works, also known as AFF.
AFF would be responsible for development and deliveries, while construction and manufacturing
was to be split between the two companies.
There’s a lot more to it than this very brief summary, and there’s a couple of other
companies and subsidiaries involved, but I did only want to cover this briefly to explain
the relationship between SAAB and ASJA specifically and keep the video focussed on the aircraft.
In 1938 the Swedish Air Force was looking for a new reconnaissance aircraft.
Their current model, the Fokker S6 was beyond obsolete and with storm clouds gathering over
Europe there was a growing need to modernish Swedish military assets.
Two designs would be submitted, one by AFF and the other by ASJA directly.
ASJA had not been comfortable with the design submitted by the AFF design office and had
made a parallel design of their own, this also included a response to the new requirement
that the aircraft could be built as a light bombe without an excessive amount of redesign.
To improve their development work, ASJA had augmented its engineering staff by hiring
48 American designers and specialists between 1938 and 1939.
However, their stay in Sweden would be short-lived, as they were called back to the US at the
outbreak of war in Europe.
Nevertheless, their input was valuable and significantly aided the design process.
In August, AFF submitted the two designs and was awarded a contract to develop and build
two prototypes of the ASJA design, which at the time was known as the L-10 and the prototype
would be given the designation P7.
The sudden departure of the American designers and engineers in 1939/1940 caused development
delays as ASJA and SAAB moved to fill in the gaps, often with inexperienced personnel.
However, the prototypes were complete by the spring, and the first aircraft, now known
as the Saab 17, took off for the first time on the 18th May 1940.
The two aircraft were almost identical, except for a difference in engines.
The first prototype was powered by a Swedish built Nohab/Bristol Mercury 12 of 800hp, and
the second would be powered by a Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp which produced 1065hp.
The aircraft was designed as a mid-wing all metal cantilever monoplane.
It boasted several advanced design features, including flush-riveting to reduce drag.
It housed a roomy high-visibility canopy for a crew of two: a pilot, and an observer who
also acted as navigator and rear gunner.
For maximum strength the central fuselage was designed without any cut-outs for the
undercarriage.
The landing gear and the tail wheel were still fully retractable, but instead of being housed
within the fuselage or the wing, it instead retracted against the wing, and was protected
by a streamlined metal covering that was fixed to the gear itself.
This covering was dual purpose, as not only did it protect the gear from the elements,
but it also acted as an airbrake during a dive-bombing attack.
The SAAB 17 was also designed to have the landing gear replaced with floats for landing
on large bodies of water, and Sweden being Sweden – home to moose and snow - the aircraft
also be equipped with retractable skis.
The aircraft’s armament consisted of two 8mm machine guns mounted in the wings, and
one 8mm machine gun on a flexible mount at the rear seat.
In terms of payload, it could carry up to 700kgs of bombs.
Racks were provided under the wings, and the fuselage had an internal bomb bay that could
accommodate one 250kg bomb or eight 50kg bombs.
Earlier versions of the aircraft were also equipped with a special mechanism that lowered
an externally carried 500kg bomb free of the propeller arc.
Though innovative, this feature would not last as the advent of the SAAB BT-2 bombsight
would soon make dive-bombing obsolete.
In fact, dive bombing would be rapidly discouraged when the first production models arrived and
as it was discovered that their wings had a habit of falling off.
The wings were promptly strengthened, but the aircraft were only ever cleared for shallow
dive bombing during their service life.
In the Autumn of 1940, SAAB was awarded contracts for 174 aircraft, all of them being the reconnaissance
version that was to be dubbed the S17.
A year later, the order was increased to 262 aircraft, of which one batch was to be built
as light bombers designated as the B17, this batch was then increased again to become the
major part of the order.
Developing the prototype had been a complicated endeavour but completing the production versions
quickly made that feel like a spring picnic.
First of all, production was complicated by the problems of engine availability.
Initially, the aircraft was planned for the Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp.
This version was designated the B17A in the Swedish Air Force.
The Twin Wasp engine however did not become available in suitable numbers until 1943-44,
and therefore the first version of the aircraft to go into production was the B17B – powered
by a Swedish Built Bristol Mercury 24.
But wait, there’s more.
In 1941 the air force was able to procure the Italian Piaggio P11, which produced 1040hp,
and this was then used to power the B17C.
The Twin-Wasp powered B17A thus became the last version to go into production.
All in all, the first production aircraft flew on the 1st of December 1941 and the last
delivery took place in Autumn 1944.
In terms of dimensions and performance, I’ll quote the figures for the B17A to keep things
simple.
It had a length of 9.8m, a wingspan of 13.7m and a height of 4.m.
It had a relatively light empty weight of 2600kg and a loaded weight of 3970kg.
It had a maximum speed of 435 km/h, a cruising speed of 390km/h and a range of 1800km.
From 1942, the SAAB17 would be fielded by six light bomber and reconnaissance wings
of the Swedish Air force, but due to Sweden’s neutrality, they would not see any combat
during world war two.
In the final phase of the war it was feared that German troops in Denmark and Norway would
not obey Germany’s order for total surrender.
In Sweden, the Danish brigade, first organised in 1943, had been trained to use the B17 and
were put on alert for deployment, but the order to fly never came.
Due to the rapid advances in aviation technology, the aircraft were retired from frontline service
in 1948.
However, they would get a second lease of life with the Ethiopian air force.
Between 1947 and 1953 the Ethiopian air force, which had been organised by Swedish officers
at the request of Emperor Haile Selassie, eventually purchased a total of 47 Saab17As
in three batches.
The aircraft proved ideal for the rugged conditions in Ethiopia.
In the late 1950s a number of Fairey Firefly attack aircraft were acquired from Canada
in order to modernise the air force, but these aircraft finished their service in Ethiopia
well before the Saab 17s, which were still operating in Squadrons in the 1960s.
Even in the 1970s some aircraft were still operating with Ethiopia after more than 25
years of service.
Starting in 1951, the Air Board released a number of Saab 17as to serve as civil registered
target-towing aircraft for the Swedish armed forces.
The aircraft were still owned by the air board but were operated by private companies.
Eventually a total of 20 Saab 17s were on the Swedish civil register.
Two S17BS seaplanes were also in civil use between 1949-1951.
One target towing plane was sold to Austria in 1957, and two years later two similar aircraft
were also sold to the Finnish Air Force.
Several models survive to this day, including a pair that are kept at the Swedish Air Force
museum with one of them in an airworthy condition.