The Saab 35 Draken: The Groundbreaking Fighter Nobody Talks About

Unveil the untold story of the Saab 35 Draken – Sweden's Cold War ace. From its groundbreaking design to the legendary Cobra maneuver, discover the aircraft that never saw combat but left an indelible mark in aviation history!

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[JCBCVideos]

Piece of trivia... The Swedish pilots were not happy about scrambling into freezing cold cockpits in the dead of winter. So Saab created a heated seat for them...which they then adapted for their cars. So... When you have a nice warm butt in your car during the winter, thank Saab.

[EdMcF]

A Finnish air force pilot, flying a Draken, caught up with and was shadowing an RAF Nimrod in the Baltic and the RAF plane slowed down rapidly hoping to make him overshoot. The Finn did a kort parad and stayed alongside, the RAF pilot went on the radio to congratulate him on the manoeuvre.

[factsy]

Interesting fact from a Swede here:
During the Cold War, Swedish pilots engaged in progressively daring maneuvers, flying in larger formations and conducting increasingly advanced exercises. They consistently pushed the boundaries, both theirs and those of their aircraft. Although the cold war never escalated into a full-scale war, 550 Swedish pilots tragically lost their lives between 1946 and 1991. In the period of the viggen and draken these courageous aviators flew at altitudes as low as 10 meters, and in some instances, even as low as 5 meters. During training they always flew as there was a real war going on and genuin combat.

[mfgua]

My dad used to fly the Draken for the danish airforce back in the 90s. He said it was the last plane that was flown by man, and not the other way around. An incredible aircraft... As a tribute, i got one tattooed on my forearm. Wish i could post a picture here

[timbackman]

As someone who grew up next to a military airfield in Sweden i can give you another good reason for its name. The sheer fucking roar of it's engine. I'll know it anywhere and at any airshow where they are present i still get a pleasant chill up my spine from hearing it. It's the roar of our protector, our power and ingenuity. ❤

[tapio_m]

Finland had these and let me tell you: what a magnificent thing this was! My favorite fighter we have ever had.

[Stukov]

It's remarkable that a plane designed in the late 50s still looks futuristic.

[ralach]

Grew up near Karup, in Denmark, where the danish Draken squadrons were based, in the 1980s.
When the plan to retire the Drakens from danish service were announced, the pilots and service personnel, working with the planes, put them up for sale, as a protest to the planes being retired, in a Danish newspaper..
Really stunning aircraft.

[EdMcF]

The Swedish air force was the World's fourth largest in the 1950s, (after the USSR - it had two types of airforce, the USA and the UK), and it had the first all-jet air force.

[supahtheone]

As a Swede and a huge fan of your channels I approve of this. Been waiting for this

[jjfromthebigland]

Draken, Viggen, Gripen. The Swedes have built some impressive aircraft over the years...

[holonyaa]

Still remember the first time i saw a Draken in flight.
I was 7 years old and first i heard it but couldnt see it. And suddenly it appeared from the clouds, doing a fly by. 6 months later i got the chance to sit in the cockpit of one of them at a airshow, and boy that made me happy.
Still one of the best looking aircrafts ever made.

[maciekkra]

One of the absolutely most beautiful jet silouettes ever designed. Growing up in Poland in the 80s i knew of the aircraft, since one of my classmates received a plastic kit model of it.

[josephhogan]

It's called the Draken because the double delta wings look like a kite. The Swedish name for a kite is draken.

[djeeno]

I'm swedish and am fortunate to have seen an airshow with Viggen, Draken and Gripen flying squad formation, displaying their strengths as the more nimble Viggen and Gripen broke to each side and the Draken going nearly vertical straight up.

and that

[JoeSwallows]

Proud to be a Swede. This is an incredible beautiful and cool aircraft.

[Talon]

My favorite aircraft for the longest time. The Draken is what we get when a design is focused on elegant simplicity.

[wstavis]

One of the most beautiful aircraft ever. Simply stunning.

[bobthegoat]

I have always been very impressed with SAAB. They just seem to put out extraordinary, versatile and simple products, which is especially impressive when you consider just how "small" a company they are, compared to the American big boys.

[WallaceTheRed]

One of these dropped out of cloud cover over my ship on a training exercise one time and scared the crap outta me