page_title: Saab 29 Tunnan
section_title: Combat service in the Congo
hierarchical_section_title: Saab 29 Tunnan / Operational history / Combat service in the Congo
caption_attribution_description: English: A flight of four Swedish Saab 29 Tunnan (J-29) jets in the Congo
context_page_description: The Saab 29, colloquially called Flygande tunnan, is a Swedish fighter that was designed and manufactured by Saab in the 1940s. It was Sweden's second turbojet-powered combat aircraft, the first having been the Saab 21R; additionally, it was the first Western European fighter to be produced with a swept wing after the Second World War, the Me 262 having been the first during the war. Despite its rotund appearance, from which its name derives, the J 29 was a fast and agile aircraft for its era. It served effectively in both fighter and fighter-bomber roles into the 1970s.
context_section_description: The Tunnan was the first Swedish jet aircraft to perform combat operations. In September 1961, in response to an appeal by the United Nations (UN) for military support, an initial force of five J 29Bs were stationed in the Republic of Congo as a contribution to a UN peacekeeping mission (ONUC) in the region, organized as the F 22 Wing of the Swedish Air Force.  It was subsequently reinforced by four more J 29Bs and two S 29C photo reconnaissance Tunnans in 1962.  The J 29s were the only combat aircraft at the disposal of the UN, the J 29Bs dispatched receiving the UN identifying legend upon their fuselages.
  Most of the missions involved attacking ground targets with internal cannons as well as unguided rockets.  No aircraft were lost in action despite large amounts of ground fire.  Consensus of the crews and foreign observers was that the Tunnan's capabilities were exceptional. (Their secessionist adversaries used a few Fouga Magisters and other aircraft with relatively poor air combat capabilities.) The only aircraft lost was by a high-ranking officer who made a trial run and crashed during an aborted takeoff. When ONUC was terminated in 1964, some of the Swedish aircraft were destroyed at their base, since they were no longer needed at home and the cost of retrieving them was deemed excessive.
caption: UN J-29 fighter jets in the Congo
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