De Havilland DH 100 Vampire was the first jet aircraft in the Swedish Air Force. The deliveries from the UK began already in June of 1946. 70 Vampires of the D H 100 Vampire Mark F.1 were ferried from the British manufacturer to Sweden by Air Force pilots. The designation in Sweden was J 28, later changed to J 28A, when other versions of the Vampire were provided to the Air Force.

These variants of the Vampire served in the Swedish Air Force:

J 28A - D H 100 Vampire F.1 (Fighter Mk 1). 70 aircraft were delivered 1946-1947. They were the first jet aircraft in the Air Force. The armament consisted of four Hispano 20 mm automatic cannons (m/46).  

J 28B - D H 100 Vampire FB.50 (Fighter Bomber Mk 50). 310 aircraft of this version were delivered in four batches 1949-1952. They were all armed with four improved Hispano 20 mm automatic cannons (m/47) and could carry eight 18,5 cm attack rockets. The J 28Bs that were transferred to the Attack Wing F 14 at Halmstad around 1953 were re-designated A 28B. 

(J) 28C - D H 115 Vampire T.55 (Trainer Mk 55). 45 aircraft were bought from de Havilland Co. in three different versions. 12 J 28B were rebuilt to J 28C standard in Sweden. The C-version version was first developed by de Havilland as a night fighter (D H 113). When this version showed itself difficult to put on the market, the manufacturer developed it further to an advanced trainer, keeping the armament of four 20 mm automatic cannons. It could also carry rockets. This two-seated aircraft (side-by-side arrangement) were purchased to improve the training after a row of serious crashes. The aircraft were delivered directly to the Swedish fighter wings. The first 30 aircraft were original T.55. The last 15 British-built Vampires were of the modified T.55A version, which lacked armament. When the War Flying School (F 5) at Ljungbyhed needed more two-seated jet aircraft, twelve J 28B/A 28 B from the attack Wing F 14 at Halmstad, were rebuilt by the Air Force own workshop CVM at Malmen. The Vampires ended their career in the Swedish Air Force as trainers, not least for senior officers to give them experience of jet aircraft. The trainer Vampires were re-designated fpl 28 (fpl=flygplan=Aircraft).  

The first 70 Vampires (J 28A) were fitted with Goblin II engines of 1.360 kp, made by de Havilland (RM 1). The remaining versions used the somewhat stronger Goblin III (1.500 kp). These engines were manufactured in Sweden by Svenska Flygmotor AB and got the Swedish designation RM 1A.

The fuselage is to a great extent built as another famous de Havilland aircraft, the Mosquito. The fore part of the is constructed of plywood and balsa wood in two halves. The nose party consists of removable aluminium plating. The wings are all metal.

Length 9,37 m (J 28C 10,49 m). Span 11,59 . MTOW - J 28A 3.899 kg, J 28B 4.800 kg, J 28C 5.050 kg.

Photo at top of the first Vampire delivered to the Air Force (c/n EEP42083, Sw AF/n 28001) and now displayed at Flygvapenmuseum.

Photo below: J 28B - probably # 28317 - in July 1969 at Tullinge. This aircraft was withdrawn from use  two years earlier.
 

For the Model Builder

Marivox has cooperation in with Daedalus developed a plastic model kit of J 28A in scale 1:72 (Kit No. LE-1.)
 

© Lars Henriksson