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| Svenska Aero Jaktfalken | |
|---|---|
 SA-14E Jaktfalken II (Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIIA engine) for theNorwegian Army Air Service, ca 1931. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Svenska Aero,ASJA |
| Designer | |
| Primary users | Swedish Air Force |
| Number built | 19 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1929 |
Svenska Aero Jaktfalken ("TheGyrfalcon") was aSwedishbiplanefighter aircraft, constructed in the late 1920s. The aircraft was first manufactured bySvenska Aero from 1929 to 1932 and later byAB Svenska Järnvägsverkstädernas Aeroplanavdelning (ASJA) from 1934 to 1935.
Jaktfalken was constructed and manufactured by Svenska Aero as a private venture, internally designated theSA-11 for the initial variant. The company contacted the Swedish Aerial board, requesting guidelines and wishes for a fighter aircraft. When no reply was received, Svenska Aero began to look at foreign designs to get some guidance. Jaktfalken was a conventional biplane equipped with anArmstrong Siddeley Jaguar 500 hp 14-cylinderradial engine. Thelanding gear was fixed and there was a skid under the tail. Thefuselage framework was made of welded beams covered with fabric. The fore and aft part of the fuselage was covered inaluminiumsheet. There was a fuel tank between the engine and the cockpit, which contained enough fuel for 2.5 hours of flying.[1]
The Swedish Air Force test pilot Nils Söderberg was given the mission to try out the new prototype at theBarkarby air force base. After one of his landings, he said, "this is the best aircraft that I have flown so far."
On November 11, 1929, Jaktfalken was presented for representatives from authorities and the press.[1] The Swedish Air administration decided that three Jaktfalken and threeBritishBristol Bulldog II fighters were to be ordered for comparative tests.
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The prototype was bought by theSwedish Air Force on January 9, 1930 for 81,654Norwegian krone, and given the designationJ 5. By February 1930, the Air administration decided to use a Bristol Jupiter engine as the air force standard engine.[1] The designer,Carl Clemens Bücker was forced to modify the two ordered aircraft, by making new engine attachments and make modifications to the fuselage. These aircraft were given the nameSA-14 Jaktfalken I (orJ 6 in the Swedish Air Force). The order was followed by a new one for 5 aircraft with Jupiter VII engines in 1930, designatedSA-14 Jaktfalken II (orJ 6A in the Swedish Air Force). During test flights, powerful vibrations were encountered.[1] Both Svenska Aero and CFV tried to solve the problem, without success. The aircraft was still approved by the Swedish Air Force. Bücker and CFV tried to modify the landing gear and the fuselage after the delivery. The aircraft had now a more angular fuselage and the Jupiter VIIF was chosen as the engine. The Swedish Air Force received three Jaktfalken IIs in 1932.
Argentine andJapanese military representatives tested the aircraft but placed no orders. The sole export order would be fromNorway, who ordered one aircraft in 1931, equipped with anArmstrong Siddeley Panther IIIA engine to compare against aHawker Fury. When the Swedish Air Force wanted an additional seven aircraft in 1933, Svenska Aero had been bought by ASJA and the deliveries come from the new manufacturer, who made some minor modifications to the stabilizer and the windshield.
The series produced aircraft was to be calledJ 6 in Swedish service. After theSwedish Air Force bought a Svenska Aero Jaktfalken J 5 in 1930Flygstyrelsen (The Swedish Air Board) decided to use a Bristol Jupiter as the standard engine.
Two J 5s were already ordered but were not ready for delivery. The designer, Carl Clemens Bücker, was forced to reconstruct the aircraft from the firewall forward to make room for the new engine. The modified aircraft was given the designation J 6.
Svenska Aero wanted more orders of the type in order to bring down the cost and rationalize production.Flygstyrelsen then suggested that another four J 6s should be bought for the Swedish Air Force.
The first J 6 was flown in 1930, at the test flight, the aircraft suffered from heavy vibrations in the tail section. The aircraft was then transferred to the CFV where they tried to modify the construction to reduce the vibrations. Although the problems weren't solved by the modifications, the aircraft was approved by the air force.
The third aircraft was ready in the autumn of 1930. This aircraft had similar problems with vibrations as the first prototype. The aircraft crashed during the first flight and the test pilot died. This test pilot wasEinar Lundborg, a national hero, who had rescued the Arctic explorerUmberto Nobile. The accident caused a major storm against the leadership of the Swedish Air Force. The accident was investigated by a commission. Two J 5s and five J 6s were transferred to the Swedish Air Force.
Bücker later modified the aircraft's fuselage and gave it a new landing gear and Jupiter VIIF engine. The Swedish Air Force ordered 3 aircraft of this modified type and gave them the designationJ 6A. These aircraft were delivered during the summer of 1932 and they were stationed at the F 3 Malmslätt air force base. All J 6's were transferred between 1932 and 1934 to F 1, in order to be used for fighter training.
Another seven aircraft were ordered by May 1933 but the company had been merged in 1932 with ASJ. The aircraft was thereafter produced and delivered by ASJA. As soon as the order had been received, manufacture began. The first aircraft was ready by November 1934. All aircraft were ready and were delivered by June 1935. The Swedish Air Force designated these aircraftJ 6B.
When all fighters were transferred from theVästmanland Wing (F 1) (where F 8 had been adetachment) toSvea Wing (F 8) in October 1938, there were seven J 6's left in the air force, they were used as fighter trainers. Three aircraft were given to Finland during theWinter War 1939–1940, all the remaining aircraft were scrapped in 1941.
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Sweden gave three Jaktfalkens (two J 6Bs and one J 6A) to theFinnish Air Force on 8 December 1939. These were the oldest ones of the type that Sweden had; it was common to give away the oldest equipment as military aid. The aircraft were designated the two-letter codeJF (forJakt-Falken, numbersJF-219,JF-224 andJF-228, the latter two being J 6Bs) and were used for training at the airfield atKauhava until 1945, when all were scrapped.[1]
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Finland
Latvia
Norway
SwedenData from Complete Book of Fighters[2]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
