In an unusual order for the time, they ordered a total of 70 Vampire F.Mk.1 fighters on 9th February 1946 plus some spare Goblin 2 engines and a license to manufacture Goblin 3 engines at Svenska Flygmotor Factory in Tröllhattan, Götaland.
The Vampires were ferried in June 1946 with the last one arriving in August 1947 and they were known in Swedish service as J-28A.
The next year, an enormous order for 310 Vampires FB.50 was placed. These were known as J-28B in Sweden and were intended to be used as an interim fighter while the SAAB J-29 Tunnan was developed. Most of the Vampires from this second batch were built at Hatfield with some few machines being completed at Chester. They were delivered between 27th May 1949 and summer 1952.
In 1953 the Vampires began to replace the SAAB B-18 piston-engined bombers in the ground-attack role, equipped with rockets. These Vampires were re-designated as A-28B, where the letter A stood for Attack while J stood for fighter. The Vampires, however, didn't live long in this role as they were withdrawn in 1955 and assigned to the Combat Flying School of the RSAF at F.5 Ljungbyhed where they would finally be withdrawn from active service in 1967. In 1953 the RSAF ordered 20 Vampire T.55 of the earlier variant, with framed canopy and no ejection seats. They were designated as J-28C. They were manufactured at Hatfield and were delivered between February and July 1953 to be assigned to the Basic Flying School at Ljungbyhed. This unit operated SAAB 91 Safirs for elemental flight training and Vampire trainers for jet conversion. A second batch of T.55s were ordered, this time of the upgraded sub-variant with ejection seats and bubble canopy. They were designated as Sk.28 C-2s and the earlier T.55 Sk.28 C-1. Twelve Sk.28 C-1s were upgraded in 1956 to C-2 standards with new front fuselages supplied by Chester. De Havilland called these upgraded machines as T.55A and the RSAF Sk.28 C-3. They served until 1968 when every remaining Vampire was sold for scrap or sent to museums.
In 1953 the Vampires began to replace the SAAB B-18 piston-engined bombers in the ground-attack role, equipped with rockets. These Vampires were re-designated as A-28B, where the letter A stood for Attack while J stood for fighter. The Vampires, however, didn't live long in this role as they were withdrawn in 1955 and assigned to the Combat Flying School of the RSAF at F.5 Ljungbyhed where they would finally be withdrawn from active service in 1967. In 1953 the RSAF ordered 20 Vampire T.55 of the earlier variant, with framed canopy and no ejection seats. They were designated as J-28C. They were manufactured at Hatfield and were delivered between February and July 1953 to be assigned to the Basic Flying School at Ljungbyhed. This unit operated SAAB 91 Safirs for elemental flight training and Vampire trainers for jet conversion. A second batch of T.55s were ordered, this time of the upgraded sub-variant with ejection seats and bubble canopy. They were designated as Sk.28 C-2s and the earlier T.55 Sk.28 C-1. Twelve Sk.28 C-1s were upgraded in 1956 to C-2 standards with new front fuselages supplied by Chester. De Havilland called these upgraded machines as T.55A and the RSAF Sk.28 C-3. They served until 1968 when every remaining Vampire was sold for scrap or sent to museums.
Sources:
1. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire
No comments:
Post a Comment