Walkaround #652

Saab B 17A

Reference photos by Per Börjeson

  Sweden National Day 2005 

Overall view of the engine and propeller. This airplane has the postwar Hamilton Std prop. The engine is a Swedish made R-1830, designated STWC 3.

 

      

These photos were taken at Västerås, Sweden on May 22 2005. 

This is B 17A s/n 17239, currently the only airworthy example of the type. The airplane was restored to it's original wartime condition in 1996-1997, in celebration of Saab's 60th anniversary. I hope these images will come in handy for people building the Marivox kit. There were three basic versions made of the Saab 17, mainly differing by their engines. The 17A uses a P&W R-1830, the 17B had a Bristol Mercury while the 17C used a Piaggio XI bis RC40. Another feature is that the canopy is 10 mm higher on the A and C marks, compared to the B.
A word of notice on the propeller of this airplane; the B 17A originally used a Swedish made wooden propeller (pretty similar to some German props). This prop was replaced by Hamilton Standard on many aircraft in the postwar years. The B 17As of the Imperial Ethiopian Airforce used the same type of Hamilton Std mounted to the C-47. 

Per Börjeson

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The exhaust system. Note exhaust cooling inlet and suspension strut. The circular hole, just aft of the
cowl flaps, is a connecting point for the flywheel turn handle. Also note the the vent tube and open oil cooler flap.

Closeup of the oil cooler. Note that tiny
ventilation pipe to the right.

Here's a shot of the main landing gear retracting mechanism.  Landing gear details are painted in underside colour.
Closeup of right main gear strut and wheel. The tyres of this airplane are plain while service planes
had tires with a tractor style pattern, a typical feature of many Saab aircraft.

 

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A shot of the main gear rear fairning.

Lower centre fuselage section. The tube is an extension pipe for a LF drag anthena. The tiny VHF anthena just aft of bomb bay doors is a post restoration addition.

A general view of the tail section.
Fuselage centre section and cabin area.

 

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Another shot of the cabin area with some interior detail visible. Sorry about all those people, it was quite crowded and hard to get a clean shot.

Wing tip with pitot tube. Note the navigation light.
More wing detail. Note the hatch to the left of the landing light. This is a cover for opening where
the machine gun barrels would be on a service airplane.
A closeup of starboard wing jacking point.

 

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View of the bomb bay, facing aft.

Forward bomb bay section. Note the bottom of the
control column with aileron wires and parts of the
instrument panel being visible through an opening in
the cockpit floor. Bomb bay doors are partially closed
and therefore the mechanism is slightly offset.

 

Photos and text © by Per Börjeson