This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2017) |
FFVS J 22 | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | Fighter |
National origin | Sweden |
Manufacturer | Kungliga Flygförvaltningens Flygverkstad i Stockholm (FFVS) |
Designer | Bo Lundberg |
Status | Retired |
Primary user | Swedish Air Force |
Number built | 198 |
History | |
Manufactured | 1942–1946 |
Introduction date | October 1943 |
First flight | 20 September 1942 |
Retired | 1952 |
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 Vultee P-66 Vanguard (J 10) aircraft from the United States. [1] [2] In October 1940, the United States declared an embargo against delivering the remainder of the orders to Sweden (60 P-35s had been delivered). [1] [2] 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.
The new aircraft, designated J 22, was a mid-wing cantilever monoplane with a retractable undercarriage and an enclosed cockpit. [6] The narrow-track main landing gear retracted rearward entirely within the fuselage. To minimise the use of strategic materials, the aircraft was of mixed steel and wood construction, with a plywood-covered molybdenum steel tube fuselage 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 build 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 m (16,000 ft) although, above 6,000 m (20,000 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.
Five examples of the J 22 have been preserved.
Three examples are owned by the Swedish Air Force Museum, at Malmslätt, Östergötland, site of the former F 3 air wing.
22280 F 3 Red L is on static display at the museum itself. [15]
22185 F 10 Red K is located at the Ängelholms Flygmuseum at the former F 10 air force wing outside Ängelholm, Skåne. This example is able to taxi under its own power. [16]
22149 is owned by Svedinos Bil- Och Flygmuseum (Svedinos Automobile and Aviation Museum), in Ugglarp, Halland. This aircraft is currently undergoing restoration to flying condition in Sweden. [17]
Two more J 22 incomplete airframes survive. 22216 is owned by the Swedish Air Force Museum with 22236 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 [18]
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 Seversky XP-41 was a fighter aircraft built in the United States in 1939. A single prototype was modified from the last production Seversky P-35 by adding a new streamlined canopy, a Pratt & Whitney R-1830-19 engine with a two-speed supercharger, and revised landing gear. The XP-41 first flew in March 1939. The aircraft was developed in parallel with the P-43 Lancer, and work was stopped when the USAAC showed a preference for the latter.
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 J5N was an abandoned Japanese prototype fighter aircraft of the World War II era. J5N was developed as twin-engine interceptor for countering attacks by Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
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 Nakajima A6M2-N was a single-crew floatplane based on the Mitsubishi A6M Zero Model 11. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was Rufe.
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. Its twin boom fuselage with a pusher engine gave the aircraft an unusual appearance.
Saab MFI-15 Safari, also known as the Saab MFI-17 Supporter, is a propeller-powered basic trainer aircraft used by several air forces.
Raab-Katzenstein RK-26 Tigerschwalbe, also known as the Fieseler F 1 Tigerschwalbe, was a German twin-seat biplane trainer aircraft designed by Gerhard Fieseler by the end of the 1920s.
The Avro Type 584 Avocet was a British single-engined naval fighter prototype, designed and built by Avro. While the Avocet was not built in numbers, one of the prototypes was used as a seaplane trainer for the Royal Air Force's (RAF) High Speed Flight.
The PZL P.1 was a Polish fighter, designed by the engineer Zygmunt Puławski, manufactured by the PZL state-owned factory. It remained a prototype, but it was the first of the Polish PZL gull wing fighter series, leading to the PZL P.7, PZL P.11 and PZL P.24.
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 Rikugun Ki-93 was a prototype Japanese twin-engined fighter aircraft of the Second World War. Designed by the Army Aerotechnical Research Institute, to be a heavy fighter armed with large calibre cannon to serve in the anti-shipping or bomber destroyer roles, only one example of the Ki-93 was completed; this was damaged on its maiden flight, and destroyed by American bombing before it could be flown again.
The PWS-11 was a Polish aerobatic and trainer aircraft, developed in 1928-1929 by PWS, which remained a prototype.
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.