The B 17A is a single-engine, two-seat dive bomber developed and produced by Swedish aviation manufacturer SAAB. The aircraft is a purpose-built derivation of the SAAB 17, a multi-role military airframe designed to fulfill the roles of ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) data collections, forward observation, surface attack (including maritime torpedo missions), and bomber. The SAAB 17 took its maiden flight on May 18, 1940 and it was introduced in March of 1942. SAAB manufactured 326 17s, 264 of which were dive bomber variants; 132 of these were B 17A versions.
The B 17A traces its lineage to the birth of SAAB (Svenska Aeroplan AktieBolag), today one of the world’s leading aerospace and defense firms. The 17 was the first aircraft produced by SAAB, and as such, it was integral to the early evolution of the company.
With World War I still fresh in the minds of military decision makers, the Swedish government outlined a defense plan in the mid-1930s that included four dive bomber units. The country’s nascent aerospace industry had experience with dive bombers; the Swedish subsidiary of the German firm Junkers had developed the K 47 attack aircraft in the 1920s, although Sweden did not use them. The K 47 had proven successful in early tests of dive bombing and would form the basis of the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber used by the Germans in World War II.
In the mid-1930s, Sweden’s military used the Northrop 8A-1, the export version of Northrop’s A-17 light attack and dive bombing aircraft that the Swedes designated the B 5. They also used Fokker C.V biplanes for light bombing and reconnaissance. In 1936, they sought a more operationally robust aircraft, one that could perform not only dive bombing, but ISR data collections, forward observation, and surface attack. Furthermore, they wanted this aircraft to be developed and produced in Sweden, by a Swedish company. The military outlined a specific plan to supply their Air Force with 257 warplanes by 1943.
The initial design work for the prospective aircraft, called the L-10, began as a top secret project conducted jointly by the Swedish company ASJA and the Douglas Aircraft Company of the United States. SAAB, which formed on April 2, 1937, took over the L-10 project when it purchased ASJA in March of 1939. SAAB continued exclusive development of the aircraft and successfully test flew it on May 18, 1940. Impressed by the airplane’s performance, the Air Force ordered two variants, a reconnaissance version that they designated the S 17, and a diver bomber, the B 17. Three iterations of the B 17 were created, the B 17A, the B 17B, and the B 17C. Each was based on engine type, with the B 17A fitted with the most powerful motor.
