One doesn't see much written on the Viggen and now that it is basically all but gone from the Flygvapnet inventory, I doubt if we will see much after this. I have to say that I've always been fascinated by the Viggen. Its is an aircraft that was somewhat unique in its shape. One of the requirements for a home defense fighter is the need for an aircraft that could be deployed to isolated locations throughout the country with minimal ground support. This and the desire to do as much of the aircraft construction at home as possible has led to some pretty remarkable, and expensive aircraft. Now supplanted by the Gripen, the Viggen will be added to another long line of Swedish fighters that were never called to perform the missions for which they were designed;  and really, this is a good thing.

Air Doc's dual German/English books have set a very high standard for books of this type. It not only provides an excellent historical reference, but an equally outstanding photo reference and this one is no exception. The book logically divides itself into sections with the historical background followed by many pages of large, crisp photographs, most of them in full color. The book opens with a history of the development of the Viggen in all its different variations and then follows with histories of all the units that flew it. I have to admit to being surprised at how many their really were. For the most part, Viggens were not adorned with tail codes or other fancy markings. Just a base number on the nose and perhaps a small unit badge on the fin for identification and that was it. During the last years of service in these units, there were, however, quite a few special paint schemes applied to the planes. Most of these are quite striking and I have to confess to having never seen any of them before reading this book!

There is also a walk-around section for each of the major variants; fighter, electronic warfare, and recce aircraft. The ground attack and trainer versions are similar. A page of weapons and pods is included as well as a section on the ejection seat, making this a very useful reference for the modeler. No mass of profiles in this one, but the inside of the covers provide four views of the two most used camouflage schemes. Overall it is a superlative book that is well written, well designed and a delight to read. One I can recommend to you without hesitation.

April 2009

My thanks to AirDoc for the review book. You can find these at your local hobby shop and if not, ask them to order them for you. You can also order direct by e-mailing them at www.airdoc.eu

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