Sweden is a nation that has tried to remain fairly autonomous when it comes to building equipment for their military. There have been times when they've operated equipment from other nations and they make efforts to license build things like jet engines, thus helping to remain free from the political issues that can come from getting foreign equipment.

However, Sweden did not have a home designed jet trainer. One was needed as its Vampires were getting fairly long in the tooth and simply were not up to modern standards. Any new trainer also had to have a light strike capability, which meant that racks for rockets and light bombs could be installed if needed.

One of the major decisions when developing a new aircraft is what will be used to power it. Many new aircraft have been failures because of a poor choice of engines. While that can often be cured by a different power plant, time is lost modifying the airframe for a different engine. In the case of the 105, a French engine, the Turbomeca Albisque was chosen for the prototype. Subsequent production aircraft used other variations of this engine, and while generally reliable, was somewhat fussy and required precise tuning by ground crew. Probably the reason it was replaced during an upgrade by the Rolls FJ44 once the originals had reached their operational life. The type was operated from the early 1960s until retired in 2024. As has been the norm with the Swedish Air Force, a 105, called the SK 60 in service, was added to its historic flight. The type's replacement was the Grob 120TP, a turbo-prop trainer.

This is by no means a small book, and is the most comprehensive history of the type yet produced. There are hundreds of photographs and profiles of every variation of the aircraft, from the prototypes to the two production types; one of which has a recce nose for light tactical reconnaissance. Also covered is the display team that used the SK60 along with the variety of special schemes. Austria was the only other country to operate the aircraft and its service is also covered.

There is a complete airframe description with a bevy of photos showing the different parts of the aircraft. A full serial number table is provided, giving an abbreviated history of each airframe. There is also a section on accidents and losses. A listing of preserved airframes is included and of course, a considerable number of large, full color profiles is part and parcel of this book. In all, the best reference on the type to be produced and a book I can most highly recommend.

October 2025

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