This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2017) |
FFVS J 22 | |
---|---|
An FFVS J 22 on static display at the Swedish Air Force Museum, in the markings of Östgöta Wing (F 3), code "L". | |
Role | Fighter |
National origin | Sweden |
Manufacturer | Kungliga Flygförvaltningens Flygverkstad i Stockholm (FFVS) |
Designer | Bo Lundberg |
First flight | 20 September 1942 |
Introduction | October 1943 |
Retired | 1952 |
Status | Retired |
Primary user | Swedish Air Force |
Produced | 1942–1946 |
Number built | 198 |
The FFVS J 22 was a Swedish single-engine fighter aircraft developed for the Swedish Air Force during World War II.
At the onset of World War II, the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) was equipped with largely obsolete Gloster Gladiator (J 8) biplane fighters. To augment this, Sweden ordered 120 Seversky P-35 (J 9) and 144 P-66 Vanguard (J 10) aircraft from the United States. [1] [2] However, in October 1940, the United States declared an embargo against delivering the remainder of the orders to Sweden (only 60 P-35s had already been delivered). [1] [2] As the result, Flygvapnet suddenly faced a shortage of modern fighters. Several other foreign alternatives were considered: the Soviet Polikarpov I-16 and I153 were considered obsolete, the Finnish VL Myrsky was rejected due to its all-wooden construction, and while Japan offered the Mitsubishi A6M, delivery from Japan was impractical. [3] A batch of Fiat CR.42 Falco (J 11) biplanes and Reggiane Re.2000 Falco (J 20) were eventually purchased but this was clearly an interim solution. [1] [3]
It was decided to design a new fighter to meet Flygvapnet's needs. As Saab was running at full capacity building its single-engine Saab 17 and twin-engined Saab 18 bombers, a new organisation was set up to design and build the new aircraft, the Kungliga Flygförvaltningens Flygverkstad i Stockholm ("Royal Air Administration Aircraft Factory in Stockholm", FFVS). The design team would be led by Bo Lundberg. [4] [5]
This was one of the finest aircraft that I have ever flown. The responsiveness of the controls and overall handling was exceptionally nice. It was not a high altitude fighter but up to about 5000 m (16,000 ft) it could hold its own very well. We flew mock dog fights with P-51 Mustangs and they could not catch us below 4000 m (13,000 ft) but if the fight was higher than that we had to be very careful. At altitudes above 6000 m (19,500 ft) it was getting sluggish and at 9000 m (29,000 ft) it was not much power left. Stalls in turns and straight forward were usually not a problem. If you pulled really hard in turn it would sometime flip over on its back. The first version, the 22-A, did not have much fire power, but the 22-B was better.
—Ove Müller-Hansen (pilot),[ citation needed ]
The new aircraft, designated J 22, was a mid-wing cantilever monoplane with a retactable undercarriage and an enclosed cockpit. [6] The narrow-track main landing gear retracted rearward entirely within the fuselage. In order to minimise the use of strategic materials, the aircraft was of mixed steel and wood construction, with a plywood-covered molybdenum steel tube fuselage structure covered by moulded plywood panels, and wings with welded steel spars and ribs covered by plywood. [1] [7] Power came from a Swedish copy of the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp, manufactured by Svenska Flygmotor without a license at the time, although some sources state that after the end of the war, Svenska Flygmotor volunteered to pay a licence fee, with a symbolic US$1 eventually being agreed. [2]
While the two prototypes would be built at the Flygtekniska försöksanstalten (National Aeronautical Research Institute), production aircraft would be assembled by a factory at Stockholm Bromma Airport which would be built by, and leased from the Swedish airline AB Aerotransport. Extensive use was made of sub-contractors, many of which (such as AGA, and Hägglund & Söner) were outside the aviation industry, to built sub assemblies of the J-22. [1] [8]
The first prototype J 22 made its maiden flight on 20 September 1942 from Bromma airport, with the second prototype flying on 11 June 1943. While both prototypes were destroyed in crashes, on 19 June and 20 August 1943 respectively, production had already been started prior to the prototypes flying. [9] [10] Deliveries of production J 22s, to the F9 air wing at Gothenburg, began in October 1943. [11] While delivery of the 198 production aircraft was planned to be completed by 1 July 1946, strike action by factory workers disrupted these plans, and the final 18 J 22s were assembled by the Flygvapnet workshops at Arboga. [9] [12] The last J 22 was delivered on 6 April 1946. [9]
The J 22 was well-liked by its pilots and possessed good manoeuvrability and responsive controls. Forward visibility on the ground left something to be desired and if the tailwheel was left unlocked and able to swivel during take-off there was the potential to ground-loop.
With 575 km/h (360 mph) from a 795 kW (1,065 hp) engine, the Swedish press called the diminutive fighter the "world's fastest in relation to the engine power". (While this was not absolutely accurate, the J 22 was in the same class as the early marks of Supermarine Spitfire and Mitsubishi A6M ("Zero"). [13] ) J 22 pilots tongue-in-cheek modified this to "the world's fastest in relation to track width", because of the very narrow spacing of the undercarriage.[ citation needed ]
In mock dogfights with P-51 Mustangs (called J 26 in Swedish service) it was able to "hold its own" up to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) although, above 6,000 m (19,000 ft), without a good high altitude supercharger, it became sluggish.
Because of its simple systems the J 22 was also very easy to maintain and service. [14]
The J 22 was retired from service in 1952.
Three externally examples of the J 22 have been preserved.
Two examples are owned by the Swedish Air Force Museum, at Malmen near Linköping. One of these is located at a nearby veteran airfield where it is able to taxi around under its own power. The other is on static display at the museum itself.
A third J 22 is owned by Svedinoes Bil- Och Flygmusum (Svedinoes Automobile and Aviation Museum), in Ugglarp. This aircraft is currently undergoing restoration to flying condition, by a company in France.
Two more J 22 airframes survive, although the external panelling is incomplete . One is owned by the Swedish air force museum with the other one being owned privately. They are planned to be combined with each other and restored to flying condition.[ citation needed ]
J 22-1 or J 22A
J 22-2 or J 22B
S 22-3 or S 22
Data fromF.F.V.S. J22 Fighter Aircraft [15]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
The Mitsubishi A7MReppū was designed as the successor to the Imperial Japanese Navy's A6M Zero, with development beginning in 1942. Performance objectives were to achieve superior speed, climb, diving, and armament over the Zero, as well as better maneuverability – all parameters that were ultimately achieved towards the end of its development in 1945. However, limitations on Japanese industry towards the end of the war prevented the A7M from ever entering mass production or being deployed for active duty, and it never saw active service. Its Allied reporting name was "Sam".
The Saab 91 Safir is a three or four seater, single engine trainer aircraft. The Safir was built by Saab AB in Linköping, Sweden and by De Schelde in Dordrecht, Netherlands.
The Saab 17 is a Swedish single-engine monoplane reconnaissance dive-bomber aircraft of the 1940s originally developed by ASJA prior to its merger into Saab. It was the first all-metal stressed skin aircraft developed in Sweden.
The Nakajima A4N was a carrier-based fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and the last biplane designed by Nakajima. The first prototype was completed in 1934, but due to engine trouble, the aircraft did not see service until 1936. Given the Nakajima internal designation Nakajima YM, the Japanese Navy designation was Navy Type 95 Carrier Fighter. A total of 221 were built. It saw combat in the Second Sino-Japanese War in the late 1930s.
The Saab 210 is an approximately 70% scale research prototype for the double-delta configuration of the Saab 35 Draken supersonic fighter. It became known by the unofficial nickname Lilldraken. Its first flight was on 21 January 1952.
The Saab 18 was a twin-engine bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, designed and built by Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB) for use by the Swedish Air Force in response to a 1938 design competition. Due to delays, it did not enter service until 1944, but quickly became the standard Swedish bomber aircraft. Serving in the bomber, reconnaissance and ground-attack roles, it also assisted in the development of ejection seats and air-to-surface guided missiles until its replacement by the Saab Lansen in the late 1950s.
The Saab 21R was a Swedish fighter/attack aircraft developed and produced by Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB). It was a jet-powered development of the piston-engined SAAB 21 and was the first jet aircraft to be produced by Saab. The R-suffix stands for reaktion (reaction), referencing reaktionsdrift or reaktionsmotor. Along with the Soviet Yakovlev Yak-15, the 21R was one of only two jet fighters to have been successfully converted from piston-powered aircraft.
The SAAB 21 is a Swedish single-seat low-wing monoplane fighter and attack aircraft designed and manufactured by SAAB. It used a twin boom fuselage with a pusher engine, giving the aircraft an unusual appearance.
The Boeing XF6B-1 / XBFB-1 was Boeing's last biplane design for the United States Navy. Only the one prototype, Model 236, was ever built; although first flying in early 1933, it rammed into a crash barrier in 1936 and the design was not pursued further.
The VL Myrsky ("Storm") is a Finnish World War II fighter aircraft originally developed by Valtion lentokonetehdas for the Finnish Air Force. The models of the aircraft were Myrsky I, Myrsky II, and Myrsky III.
The Sukhoi Su-6 was a Soviet ground-attack aircraft developed during World War II. The mixed-power high-altitude interceptor Su-7 was based on the single-seat Su-6 prototype.
The Goodyear GA-2 Duck was a 1940s American three-seat light amphibious aircraft built by the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation. The design team included David Thurston, who later developed several other light seaplanes including the Colonial Skimmer, Lake Buccaneer, Thurston Teal and Seafire. Only 19 aircraft were built, and these were used only for testing and as demonstrators.
The Gourdou-Leseurre GL.30 was a racing aircraft built in France in 1920 which formed the basis for a highly successful family of fighter aircraft based on the same design.
The Italair F.20 Pegaso was a twin-engine utility aircraft designed by Stelio Frati and built in Italy in 1971.
The Renard Epervier was a Belgian prototype single-seat all-metal fighter monoplane designed by Alfred Renard at the Societé Anonyme Avions et Moteurs Renard for a government-sponsored design contest in 1928. The Epervier Type 2 was built and flown in 1928, by Belgian aircraft manufacturer Stampe et Vertongen. It carried an armament of two synchronised 7.7mm guns and was lost in September 1928 after failing to recover from a flat spin. A second prototype, the Epervier Type 2bis, introduced revised streamlined fairings for the cantilever mainwheel legs, mainwheel spats and cylinder aft-fairings and was built by SABCA.
The Levasseur PL.5 was a carrier-based fighter produced in France in the late 1920s, in response to the 1924 AMBC.2 specification issued by the Service Technique de l'Aéronautique (STAé). It was a conventional, single-bay sesquiplane that carried a crew of two in tandem, open cockpits. Like other Levasseur naval designs of the day, it incorporated several safety features in case of ditching at sea. Apart from small floats attached directly to the undersides of the lower wing, the main units of the fixed, tail-skid undercarriage could be jettisoned in flight, and the underside of the fuselage was given a boat-like shape and made watertight.
The Focke Wulf Fw 159 was an experimental German fighter of the 1930s, designed by Kurt Tank which never reached production, as it was considered inferior to the He 112 and Bf 109. It was a heavier variant of the Focke-Wulf Fw 56, with several improvements, such as a retractable landing gear and enclosed cockpit.
The Mitsubishi J4M Senden or Navy Experimental 17-Shi Otsu B Type Interceptor Fighter Senden, Allied reporting name Luke, was a Japanese World War II fighter aircraft proposed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for use by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The J4M project did not proceed beyond the design stage.
The MFI BA-12 Sländan is a single seat ultralight of pod and high boom configuration and with a butterfly tail. It was designed and built in Sweden in the 1980s and led to a two-seat, slightly larger, development called the BA-14.
The Heinkel HD 19 W was a biplane seaplane fighter developed by Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke.