Saab 18

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_18

The SAAB 18 was a twin-engine bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, designed and
built for use by the Swedish Air Force by Svenska Aeroplan AB (SAAB) 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.

Intended as a replacement for the Junkers Ju 86 in service with the Swedish Air
Force, the requirement that led to the Saab 18 called for a three-seat fast
reconnaissance aircraft.

As a number of Americans were on the design staff of SAAB and ASJA, the Saab
18's design shared some similarities with American designs. The outbreak of
World War II in 1939 led to a change of priorities by the Swedish Air Force, and
production of the Saab 17 was accelerated, at the expense of work on the Saab
18, which, along with a change of requirements that added the role of medium
bomber to the specification, resulted in the first flight of the aircraft being
delayed until 19 June 1942.

Manned by a crew of three — a pilot and navigator under a glazed, offset canopy,
and a bombardier in the nose — the Saab 18 prototype was a mid-wing monoplane
with twin vertical stabilisers, and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1830
Twin Wasp radial engines. Armament consisted of three 13.2-millimetre (0.52 in)
machine guns, one fixed firing forwards and controlled by the pilot, the others
being in flexible defensive mounts for use by the navigator and bombardier. Up
to 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb) of bombs could be carried in an internal bay,
while up to eight 50-kilogram (110 lb) bombs could be carried on underwing
hardpoints.

Flight testing showed that the aircraft was underpowered. However, as there was
no immediate prospect for the acquisition of more powerful engines, the Saab 18
was ordered into production in both bomber (B 18A) and reconnaissance (S 18A)
versions.


Role
Bomber/Reconnaissance

Manufacturer
Svenska Aeroplan AB

Designer
Frid Wänström
Carl Haddon

First flight
19 June 1942, B 18A (Nr 18001)
10 July 1944, B 18B (Nr 1801)
7 July 1945, T 18B (Nr 18164)

Introduction
1944, B 18A
1945, B 18B
1947, T 18B

Retired
1959 (T 18B)

Primary user
Swedish Air Force

Produced
1944-1948

Number built
245

The B 18A entered service in June 1944, and quickly became Sweden's standard
medium bomber aircraft. As license-built Daimler-Benz DB 605 liquid-cooled,
inline engines had become available, they were incorporated into the improved
Saab 18B, which first flew on 10 July 1944.

Ordered into production as the B 18B dive bomber, the 18B design was further
developed into the T 18B, which was planned to be a torpedo bomber variant. Due
to difficulties with the torpedoes, however, the T 18B was instead developed
into a heavy ground-attack aircraft, mounting a 57-millimetre (2.2 in)
automatkanon m/47 autocannon under the nose.

By the late 1940s, the third crewmember's position had been eliminated, reducing
the crew of the aircraft to two; the provision of air-to-ground rockets and
improved bombsights had removed the requirement for a bombardier. By this time
the Saab 18 had established a reputation for suffering a serious rate of
attrition, and this led to the decision to outfit all of the surviving aircraft
with ejection seats for the pilot and navigator/gunner.

Production of the Saab 18 totaled 245 examples, with the last T 18B being
delivered in 1948. Used in trials of early Swedish air-to-surface missiles, the
Saab 18 remained one of Sweden's frontline ground attack and reconnaissance
platforms until the late 1950s, when it was replaced by the jet-powered, swept
wing Saab 32 Lansen, the B 18B and T 18B being replaced by the A 32A in 1958,
with the last S 18As being replaced by S 32Cs in 1959.

Specifications (B 18B)

General characteristics
Crew: 3: pilot/navigator, radiooperator/gunner, scout (at an early stage
bombardier)
Length: 13.23 m (43 ft 5 in)
Wingspan: 17.4 m (57 ft 1 in)
Height: 4.35 m (14 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 43.75 m2 (470.9 sq ft)
Empty weight: 6,093 kg (13,433 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 8,793 kg (19,385 lb)
Fuel capacity: 1,700 litres (370 imp gal; 450 US gal)
Powerplant: 2 × SFA DB-605B inverted-vee piston engines, 1,100 kW (1,475 hp)
each (1700 with modifications)
Propellers: 3-bladed VDM-33

Performance
Maximum speed: 575–590 km/h (357–367 mph; 310–319 kn) depending on altitude
Cruise speed: 550 km/h (342 mph; 297 kn)
Stall speed: 80 km/h (50 mph; 43 kn)
Range: 2,600 km (1,616 mi; 1,404 nmi)
Service ceiling: 9,800 m (32,200 ft)

Armament

Guns:
1x 13.2 mm fixed akan m/39A forwards-firing gun in wing root with 300 rpg
1x 13.2 mm movable akan m/39 defensive gun with 300 rpg
B 18B's delivered early had a second movable 13.2 mm akan m/39 defensive gun
with 300 rpg for the scout (a leftover from the B 18A). This was quickly removed
in the field due to the impracticality of it post-war and later production
examples where delivered without it.
Loadouts:
Formally: 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb) of bombs or 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb) of
bombs and rockets
Its biggest loadout was 2x 600 kg bombs and 12x rockets simultaneously.

Plus many rocket configurations...see webpage





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