SAAB J 29 F Austria 1/48

In 1946, the Swedish Air Force ordered three prototypes of the new jet fighter, the SAAB J 29. The initial prototype of the SAAB 29 Tunnan (Flying Barrel) made its first flight on September 1st 1948, with the British test pilot Robert Moore at the controls. The Saab engineering team led by Lars Brising had been allowed to review German aeronautical research documents from WW2 which clearly displayed that delta and swept-wing designs had the effect of "reducing drag dramatically” as the aircraft approached the sound barrier. The J 29F was powered by a Swedish license built DeHavilland Ghost DGT3 gas turbine engine fitted with after burner and armed with 4 powerful Bofors/m/47 20 mm (Hispano Mk V) aircraft guns. In July of 1961 the first 15 of total 30 refurbished ex-Swedish Air Force J 29Fs was delivered to the Austrian Air Force to form 1 st JaBoStaffel (yellow tail codes) at Hörsching Linz Airport. Due to lack of infrastructure in 1961, 5 of the J29s were temporarily based at Schwechat, the international airport of Vienna and 10 J29s were based at Klagenfurt airport. From the 28th of May 1962, Hörsching was the new home base of the 1st JaBoStaffel and their J 29s.