Advertisements

Saab 17

Light Bomber / Reconnaissance Aircraft [ 1942 ]

Over 300 Saab Model 17 aircraft were produced for the nations of Austria, Ethiopia, Finland and Sweden from 1941 until 1944.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 11/29/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

Advertisements

With the German conquest of Norway to the west and the Soviet invasion of Finland to the east during World War 2 (1939-1945), it behooved Sweden to maintain a viable defensive force to guard against its own impending invasion by a foreign power. As such, the country invested in procurement of foreign war-making goods and eventually looked to local industry when this became an unviable and impractical option. The Saab 17 was a product of the period, developed and manufactured by local means, and served the Swedish Air Force as a both a light bomber and reconnaissance platform for its time in the air.

Production ran from 1941 until 1944 and 323 examples were completed. The line eventually found service with the nations of Austria, Ethiopia and neighboring Finland before the end.

Origins of the Model 17 were during the latter-half of the 1930s as the design was born under the "L10" designation (originally a product of AB Svenska Jarnvagsverkstadernas Aeroplanavdelning (ASJA)). Following the company's merger with Saab, the L10 designation gave way to the more recognized Saab 17 designator. A pair of prototypes were completed and a first-flight recorded on May 18th, 1940. The first example was powered with a locally-built British Bristol "Mercury" XII of 880 horsepower while the second prototype followed into the air carrying a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 "Twin Wasp" radial engine of 1,065 horsepower.

The aircraft was of traditional design for the period, featuring an enclosed crew space, monoplane wings and a retractable undercarriage. The engine was held in a forward compartment and drove a three-bladed propeller unit. The tail unit incorporated a single, rounded vertical fin with low-set horizontal planes. The crew numbered two and were seated in tandem under a heavily-framed canopy offering fairly good vision around the aircraft.

Advertisements

Armament-wise, the Model 17 carried 2 x 8mm Ksp m/22F series machine guns in fixed, forward-firing positions as well as an 8mm Ksp m/22R machine gun on a flexible mounting in the rear cockpit. The bombload was up to 1,500lb of conventional drop ordnance.

The Model 17 emerged in its finalized production form as the "B17A". These served as dedicated light bombers and carried the Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3G "Twin Wasp" radial piston engine ranging in horsepower from 1,000hp to 1,200hp. 132 aircraft were delivered to this standard.

The "B17B" followed as another bomber development but carried the Bristol Mercury XXIV engine of 980 horsepower instead (the engines were produced locally by SFA). Total production of this bomber mark ended at 55 units.

The final bomber mark became the "B17C". These were fielded with Italian Piaggio P.Xbis R.C.40D series engines of 1,040 horsepower and total production yielded 77 units. Performance of this model included a maximum speed of 270 miles per hour, a cruise speed of 230 miles per hour, a range out to 1,055 miles and a service ceiling up to 32,155 feet.

The "S17BL" was a turn to the reconnaissance role for the aircraft series and production eventually numbered twenty-one. The floatplane version of this mark sported floats in place of the wheeled, retractable undercarriage and thirty-eight aircraft were completed in this guise.

The Swedish Air Force began receiving the aircraft during 1942 but service and production was limited due to the emergence of jet-powered types. This soon rendered any further development of radial-powered designs moot for most air powers of the world. The Model 17 ran out its days in Swedish service during 1955 and, afterwards, some of this stock was sold off to Ethiopia where they flew until 1968. Finland received only a pair of aircraft in the late 1950s and the duo served as target tugs.

Specifications

Service Year

1942

Origin

Sweden

Crew

2

Production

323
UNITS

Saab - Sweden

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Austria; Ethiopia; Finland; Sweden

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

✓ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Length

32.8 ft
(10.00 m)

Width/Span

44.9 ft
(13.70 m)

Height

14.8 ft
(4.50 m)

Empty Wgt

5,908 lb
(2,680 kg)

MTOW

8,532 lb
(3,870 kg)

Wgt Diff

+2,624 lb
(+1,190 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the Saab B17C production variant)

Installed: 1 x Piaggio P.XIbis R.C.40D 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine developing 1,000 horsepower.

Max Speed

270 mph
(435 kph | 235 kts)

Ceiling

32,152 ft
(9,800 m | 6 mi)

Range

1,056 mi
(1,700 km | 3,148 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

2,000 ft/min
(610 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Saab B17C production variant. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

STANDARD:
2 x 8mm Ksp m/22F machine guns in fixed, forward-firing positions.
1 x 8mm Ksp m/22R machine gun in flexible position at rear cockpit.

OPTIONAL:
Up to 1,500lb of conventional drop stores.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 4

Model 17 - Base Series Designation

B17A - Initial production mark; bomber version; Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3G Twin Wasp engines of up to 1,200 horsepower; 132 examples completed.

B17B - Bomber variant; SFA engine of 980 horsepower fitted; 55 examples completed.

B17C - Final bomber form; fitted with Piaggio P.XIbis R.C.40D engines of 1,040 horsepower.

S17BL - Reconnaissance variant with wheeled undercarriage; 21 examples procured.

S17BS - Reconnaissance variant with floatplane undercarriage; 38 examples procured.

Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force

Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain

Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway

Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift

Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War

Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War

Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight

Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War

Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars

Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War

Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War

Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War

Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency

Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft

Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor

Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War

Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War

Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War

Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis

Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War

Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War

Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era

Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1

Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2

Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War

Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft

Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery

1 / 1

Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Advertisements

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2022 US Military Pay Army Ranks Navy Ranks Marine Ranks Air Force Ranks USCG Ranks Compare Ranks (NEW!) DoD Dictionary Military Ribbons Identification Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols American War Deaths French Military Victories Vietnam War Casualties

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), and SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane.

www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-

Aviation / Aerospace

Saab 17

Light Bomber / Reconnaissance Aircraft [ 1942 ]

Over 300 Saab Model 17 aircraft were produced for the nations of Austria, Ethiopia, Finland and Sweden from 1941 until 1944.

Specifications

Images Gallery