The Swedish Film Archive has apparently recently digitised a number of archival films and released them for viewing online.
This film from 1960 is 17 minutes long and full of fantastic archival footage from the time. There are jets, cars, and even a Saab-built helicopter that I wasn’t aware of.
The voiceover is in Swedish but it shouldn’t matter. The 1960s imagery is fantastic and the factory footage is essential viewing.
Below, I’ve reproduced a few screenshots…..
Click.
Apparently this guy leaning over the hood is checking to make sure no water is splashing into the engine bay on the test drive. 1960’s technology!
The mysterious Saab helicopter. They show this being assembled in the factory but I don’t know anything of the background to it (I’m not a big aviation guy). Any more info from the video would be welcome.
Saab strokers on the assembly line….
And an awesome sign at the end. I’d love to know where this is now.
—
My thanks to Martin E for sending it through. Absolutely brilliant!
The helicopter is a Aérospatiale Alouette II manufactured under license by Saab.
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C3%A9rospatiale_Alouette_II
and
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alouette_II
Fantastic Movie, it mentions the underground SAAB factory in Linköping, but never filmed it. Guess it was off-limits at the time.
The helicopter is HKP2. Orginally french design Aloutte II. Assemblied by SAAB.
//LMG
the helicopter in that picture is an Aérospatiale Alouette II or an Aérospatiale Lama.
Why there is such a big Saab badge on that, I don’t know.
Great movie. A must see for every Saab fan.
I love the SADA (Saab Automatic Differential Analyser, or something like that), big as a room but with less computing power than a current telephone. 🙂
High tech at the time! Makes me proud to be Swedish. We are not so bad at things and Saab contribute in plenty areas to say the least. Mostly “boy oriented areas” of course.
PS. The yankees reached the moon with a computer less powerful than your whatever! That is kind of impressiv!
This brand is very special and unique. I love it. Saab up!!!
Chip Lamb – Find that sign and I’ll buy it off you. Just name the price. Not sure what my neighbors would say.
be careful what you ask for!!!!
SAAB have been involved in helicopter avionics/systems for quite a while…as well as trying to develop a UAV helicopter.
http://saabgroup.com/en/MediaRelations/News/2006/order_for_helicopter10.htm
http://www.helihub.com/2010/12/17/saab-invests-in-ems-technology-and-maintenance/
http://saabgroup.com/en/MediaRelations/Pressreleases/Pressrelease.htm?PressreleaseId=133572
Thanks very much for posting that film, Swade – I’ve never seen it. Only bits and pieces in other Saab films. It is amazing. The bullnose 95s and 96s featured in the film are simply enchanting.
Can’t say for sure about the engineer strapped to the hood, but one of the books I’ve read talked about Saab being puzzled by carburetor problems. To figure out what was happening, they cut part of the hood and put a plexiglass cover on so an engineer could observe the carburetor in operation. They discovered icing was the problem. IIRC
Absolutely fascinating to see them build a stroker “back in the day…” Thank you for finding & posting!
Ray Kopczynski
Albany, Oregon
Great that this film has survived and is now online, I really enjoyed it. Must have been an impressive camera too: the workers can’t help peeking at it, while they’re probably told to ‘act normal’…
Okay, can’t stop laughing after reading the following Googletrans under the video:
— “Ursaaben”, also looked like a mutation between a fast-flying saucer and a turtle —
Three pistons up @ TDC!
This video is really awesome. I have watched it quite a few times now!
At 1:28 you see a row of unfinished Saab 95s. This is filmed in Linköping. The first year or so the 95 was manufactured in Linköping and not in Trollhättan.
I is really fun to see what the Linköping site looked like at the time since I’m working there now!
For us understanding Swedish one quotation in the film was quite fun:
“…har produktionstakten stadigt ökats och har nu nått upp i nära 30 000 vagnar per år.”
…which means:
“… the production rate has steadily increased and has now reached almost 30 000 cars per year.”
…which was the production 2010 as well.