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This Is the Double Delta-Winged Viking Dragon That Once Flew Over America

For most of us with a passion for cars, the name Saab has for a long time meant a Swedish producer of four-wheeled vehicles, driven into the ground by the mighty GM during the financial crisis of the late 2000s and early 2010s. But the name applies with perhaps greater success to a company activating in the defense industry.
Saab 35 Draken 13 photos
Photo: Saab
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In the business of making anything from military airplanes to portable rocket launchers and even submarines, Saab distinguished itself over the years in this industry with some incredible pieces of machinery, like the Gripen jet and the Carl-Gustaf 84 mm anti-armor weapon. But if there is one product that screams Saab more than any other, that’s the Draken.

Draken is the Swedish word for dragon, and what better description for a contraption that looks like no other plane before it, and can easily be mistaken for either a mythical beast, or an alien spacecraft.

The Draken was born all the way back in 1955, at a time when Europe was still recovering from the devastating war years. It was envisioned as a fighter-interceptor with a strange (and until then untested) double delta wing configuration that makes it unique in the world even to this day.

The airplane first flew in 1955, with a test pilot by the name Bengt Olow at the helm. It was quite the achievement, given how this kind of plane, with the wings pretty much indistinguishable from the fuselage, had never been tried before, and opened the doors to what was to become the world’s first series-produced fighter with a double delta wing, but also the first Mach 2 airplane built in Sweden.

Saab 35 Draken
Photo: Saab
Production of the thing began in 1960, and the design proved enticing enough for countries like Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Austria to quickly adopt it. By the time the plane was officially retired, in 2005, some 612 of them were made, 12 of which under license in Finland.

Although designed as an interceptor, the Draken ended up being made in so many variants that the family went beyond its initial purpose. We got fighter versions (J 35A, J 35B, J 35D and J 35F), surveillance planes (S 35E), and even a trainer, the SK 35C.

The closest to our time is the J 35J, a derivation of the 35F that came powered by a Mach 2 Rolls-Royce Avon engine made by what was once Volvo Aero, under license from the British company.

The most widespread of the bunch, the 35F, was using the same engine, which delivered 17,600 lbf of thrust with the afterburner. That was enough to take the plane to a speed of 2,450 kph (1,520 mph), and at an altitude of 20,000 meters (66,000 ft). The range of the Draken was of about 2,750 km (1,710 miles) when fitted with external drop tanks.

Saab 35 Draken
Photo: Saab
As far as weapons are concerned, the strangely-shaped wings and body had enough hardpoints fitted onto them to hold two air-to-ground rocket pods ventrally or 12 rockets on six underwing pylons, a number of air-to-air missiles, and in some versions, 1,000 lbs (454 kg) of bombs.

Despite the long time spent in service and the fact that it was the backbone of a national air army (granted, one that is no longer so inclined to go to war), the Viking dragon didn’t get to see that much action over the years.

Even if now it may seem a bit exotic to American aviation fans, there was a time, until about 2009, when a number of these weird planes flew over U.S. soil. They did so as part of the National Test Pilot School in Mojave, California. If you're lucky, you could still catch them at various air shows.

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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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