The Story of the A-36 Bomber That Never Flew: Sweden may have been neutral during the Cold War, but it produced some of the most interesting, high-capability, and memorable homegrown military hardware. One such platform on the design block was its Saab A-36 Bomber. This airplane was meant to be assembled for the Soviet Union in mind had Moscow ever decided to invade Sweden – warfare Stockholm endured many other times over the centuries.
You May Not Have Known that Sweden Once Wanted to Go Nuclear
Surprisingly, the Swedes even had their own nuclear-weapon program in the 1950s and 1960s – not something you would expect from the peace-loving country. They needed an airplane to carry the bomb had they decided to go all-in on the project and produce an actual nuclear device. It was thought the bomb would give the Swedes a flexible nuclear response as it faced an existential threat from the Soviet Union.
How Would They Drop It On Soviet Territory?
So, they wanted a delivery platform and turned to an idea called Projekt 1300 for a supersonic, delta-wing designed bomber called the A-36 that was in development from 1952 to 1957. It didn’t have to fly far, so the fuel needs were lessened, thus there was no need to make a heavy bomber.
The Idea Was to Get in And Out Quickly
The Swedish designers wanted the airplane to have a range of only 250-miles with a 1,700-pound payload and a ceiling of 60,000 feet. This could reach the Baltic countries and even put Leningrad in its sights. Poland and East Germany would also be in range. It could have made a quick attack with a speed of around MACH 2. This velocity was made possible by twin British Rolls Royce Olympus engines.
Small Size for a Strategic Bomber
The airplane was only going to be 55-feet long. It had a wingspan of 31-feet and could carry 8,800 pounds of fuel. The engineers looked at different designs and it was determined that the delta-wing would have the best fit for a strategic bomber.
It Wouldn’t Work to Drop the Atomic Devise from Under the Wings Or Fuselage
One of the design problems was how to carry a nuclear bomb. Underneath the wings wouldn’t work because the high speed of the bomber created too much heat that could unsettle the payload. An external bomb would also create drag that would impede performance. It needed an internal weapons bay. And with the A-36’s diminutive size and light payload, the nuclear device had to be on the small size. Moreover, it would deploy a “dumb” free-floating bomb.
Saab A-36. Image Credit Creative Commons.
Saab A-36. Image: Creative Commons.
The Swedes Thought Hard About the Responsibility for Nuclear Weapons
Caution got the better part of the Swedes. Political leadership never wanted a nuclear exchange with the Soviets. And creating its own nuclear program would be difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. Going nuclear did not really fit Swedish peace-loving culture either. Home defense was one thing, but the responsibility for being a nuclear-equipped nation was considered far-fetched. There just was not enough popular support for a nuclear weapons program.
Let’s Just Scrap the Idea
All of these concerns did not portend well for the Swedish government which finally resisted going nuclear in 1966 and they eventually scrapped the bomb project in 1968. The A-36 never made it to fruition and was canceled in 1957.
Now serving as 1945’s Defense and National Security Editor, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare. He is an Emerging Threats expert and former U.S. Army Infantry officer. You can follow him on Twitter @BMEastwood.
