Sweden’s most famous fighter, hailed by some as a ‘fighter pilot’s dream’, was developed and built by the Saab company between 1955 and 1974. Designed with the Cold War situation in mind, the Draken was specially tailored to Sweden’s particular needs. Indeed a number of versions of the aircraft were developed in order to undertake a wide range of tasks. The J 35A, J 35B, J 35D, J 35F and J 35J were fighter versions, with the J 35J staying in service with the Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) until 1998. The innovative tailless double-delta design of the Draken proved amazingly successful and ushered in a whole line of more sophisticated successors. The aircraft was exported to Finland, Denmark, and Austria, where the last J 35D was retired in 2005. Illustrated with 260 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings; 80 pages.
