Saab 17

infobox Aircraft
name = B 17
type = bomber & reconnaissance
manufacturer = Saab



caption = Saab B 17A in Danish colors.
designer =
first flight = 18 May 1940
introduced = 1942
retired = 1950, Sweden 1968, Ethiopia
status =
primary user = Flygvapnet
more users = Ethiopia Finland Austria
produced = 1941-1944
number built = 264
unit cost =
variants with their own articles = The Saab 17 was a Swedish bomber-reconnaissance aircraft.

Development and service

The project first started at the end of the 1930s as the L 10 by ASJA, but after the merger with SAAB in 1937 it was renamed Saab 17. The wings were reinforced to make it possible to use it as a dive bomber. Since there was a shortage of engines the planes were flown to the destination where the engine was removed and reused for the next delivery. The plane was also made in three versions with different engines. The B 17A used a Swedish built Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp, the B 17B a British Bristol Mercury XXIV licence-built in Poland, and the B 17C an Italian Piaggio P.XI."B 17 - SAAB 17". Swedish Bombers 1926-1959. [http://www.avrosys.nu/aircraft/Bomb/157B17.htm] Access date: 6 May 2006.] The aircraft could be fitted with wheels, skis or floats. A unique feature of the Saab 17 was its use of the extended landing gear assembly, with its large covers, as dive brakes.

The first test flight was on 18 May 1940 and first deliveries to Flygvapnet were in 1942. However, the development of jets meant it had a short service history. When the planes ended service in 1947-1950 46 of them were sold to Ethiopia where they were in service until 1968. Two B 17As were sold to Finland in the 1950s, where they served as target tugs. Both were soon damaged and removed from service.

Versions

*B 17A - Bomber version with Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engine; total production: 132
*B 17B - Bomber version with British Bristol Mercury XXIV engine; total production: 55
*S 17BL - Reconnaissance version on landing gear
*S 17BS - Reconnaissance version on floats
*B 17C - Bomber version with Piaggio PXI engine; total production: 77

The SAAB 17 had a total production run of 322 aircraft.

Operators

; SWE: Swedish Air Force; ETH: Imperial Ethiopian Air Force; FIN: Finnish Air Force ; AUT: Austrian Air Force

pecifications (B 17A)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref=Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War IIJane 1946, p. 201.]
crew=two
capacity=
length alt=32 ft 2 in
length main=9.80 m
span alt=44 ft 11 in
span main=13.70 m
height alt=13 ft 1 in
height main=4.00 m
area alt=306 ft²
area main=28.5 m²
airfoil=
empty weight alt=5,720 lb
empty weight main=2,600 kg
loaded weight alt=8,734 lb
loaded weight main=3,970 kg
useful load alt=
useful load main=
max takeoff weight alt=
max takeoff weight main=
more general=

engine (prop)=Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3G
type of prop=14-cylinder radial engine
number of props=1
power alt=1,200 hp
power main=882 kW
power original=
power more=
max speed alt=272 mph
max speed main=435 km/h
max speed more=
cruise speed alt=
cruise speed main=
cruise speed more=
range alt=1,125 mi
range main=1,800 km
range more=
ceiling alt=28,500 ft
ceiling main=8,700 m
climb rate alt=2,000 ft/min
climb rate main=10 m/s
loading alt= 28 lb/ft²
loading main=139 kg/m²
power/mass alt=0.14 hp/lb
power/mass main=220 W/kg
more performance=

armament=
* 2× 8 mm ksp m/22F machine guns, fixed forward
* 1× 8 mm ksp m/22R flexible tail gun
* 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs

References

* Jane, Fred T. “The Saab-17.” "Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II". London: Studio, 1946. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.