J 4 was the only maritime fighter aircraft in the history of the Swedish Air Force. The type was intended for the defence of coastal fortifications and Navy ships. Six Heinkels of the type HD 19 (Heinkel Doppeldecker 19) were ordered. Two aircraft was built in Germany and four at Svenska Aero AB, a small factory in the vicinity of Stockholm, controlled by Heinkel. They were fitted with Bristol Jupiter VI engines of 420 hp, which had been a kind of standard engine in the Swedish Air Force. The aircraft got the Air Force numbers 280 - 285, of which 282 - 285 were manufactured in Sweden.

The aircraft was two-seated and armed with two fixed 8 mm machine-guns forward and one 8 mm moveable at the rear. The first manufactured HD 19 made its trials at Warnemünde in July 1928 and  was in service at Wing F 2 at Hägernäs some months later. But the days for floatplanes fighters were over. The J 4’s were in reality used for reconnaissance and fire direction duties. In 1934, the three still surviving J 4s were transferred to Wing F 1 at Västerås and used as spare aircraft.

Photo at top: Three J 4s in a perfect formation. Pilot of aircraft 282 is Elis Littiäinen. This beautiful photo is donated by Sven Gunnar Knapp. Thanks to Mikael Knapp for the help.

Model below built by Mikael Carlson and displayed at Flygvapenmuseum.  

Updated 2009-05-13