FFVS
When the United States embargoed the fighters Sweden had paid for in 1940, the air administration set up its own factory and built 198 J 22s from steel tube and plywood.
FFVS: the company and the aircraft that made its name
An embargo and an empty sky
In October 1940 the United States placed an embargo on the American fighters Sweden had ordered, and the Swedish Air Force found itself facing a war on its doorstep with a shortage of modern fighters. The answer was a new organisation: the Royal Air Administration’s own aircraft workshop in Stockholm, Kungliga Flygförvaltningens Flygverkstad i Stockholm, FFVS. It had one job, to design and build a fighter quickly, with Bo Lundberg leading the design team.
Steel tube and plywood
The result was the J 22, a compact mid-wing monoplane designed around what Sweden could actually get. To save strategic materials it used a plywood-covered molybdenum steel tube fuselage and wings with welded steel spars under plywood skin, and its engine was a Swedish copy of the Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp. Prototypes were built at the national aeronautical research institute, production aircraft were assembled in a hangar at Bromma leased from the airline ABA, and sub-assemblies came from firms outside aviation such as AGA and Hägglund & Söner.
198 fighters, then nothing
The J 22 first flew on 20 September 1942 and reached the F 9 wing at Gothenburg in October 1943. Strikes slowed production, and the last 18 were assembled by the air force workshops at Arboga; the final aircraft was delivered on 6 April 1946, completing 198 in all. Pilots rated it highly at low and medium altitude. With the war over and jets coming, FFVS had no further purpose, and the J 22 left service in 1952.
FFVS in numbers
The company
- In short
- Wartime state workshop
- Set up after the US embargo of October 1940
- Design team led by Bo Lundberg
- Assembly hangar at Bromma, leased from ABA
Production
- Best known for
- FFVS J 22
- 198 built, 1942–1946
- 141 J 22-1 and 57 J 22-2
- Mixed steel tube and plywood construction
Today
- Now
- Defunct
- J 22 retired 1952
The numbers
- J 22 built
- 198
- J 22 maximum speed
- 575 km/h
Every notable FFVS aircraft
Photos: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
| Aircraft | Role | First flight | Built | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FFVS J 22 | Fighter | 1942 | 198 | Retired | 141 J 22-1 and 57 J 22-2; 9 converted to S 22 reconnaissance; retired 1952 |
FFVS aircraft in the world’s air forces
1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew FFVS types. 0 of them still have one in service.
| Air force | In service | Formerly flown |
|---|---|---|
| Swedish Air Force | FFVS J 22 |
Where FFVS built, who led it, what it achieved
Factories
- Bromma assembly hangar · Stockholm Bromma Airport — Built by and leased from AB Aerotransport
People
- Bo Lundberg · chief designer — Led the J 22 design team
FFVS, year by year
US embargo on Swedish fighter orders prompts creation of FFVS
J 22 first flight
First J 22s delivered to F 9 at Gothenburg
Nine J 22-1 converted to S 22 reconnaissance
Last of 198 J 22s delivered
J 22 retired
Everything people ask about FFVS
What does FFVS stand for?
Why was FFVS created?
How many J 22s were built?
What was unusual about the J 22?
Around FFVS