Into the jet age - Our history : Volvo Aero

A proud heritage

The history of Volvo Aero reflects the history of aviation with rapid development across a wide-range of exciting fields.

From Sweden's first aero-engine to state-of-the-art technology for the 21st century, Volvo Aero has been there.

Into the Jet Age

During the transition period from piston engine manufacture to jet engine manufacture, there was a short time when it was difficult to provide full employment for the large number of workers. For this reason the company started to manufacture Diesel engines for Volvo. Moreover, a new assembly hall was built in 1948 for printing machines.

There were attempts to develop an all-Swedish turbojet engine, but none of the prototypes went beyond the testing stage. Instead, the first Swedish-made turbojet engine was manufactured on license from de Haviland in the UK. Full-scale production started in 1949.

The transition from piston engines to jet engines implied radical changes, which had widespread effects on the company. Most of the machinery had to be replaced and supplemented. Test equipment had to be redesigned and the technical personnel were confronted with completely new problems to solve. Jet engines demanded a new technical approach, which had to be learnt as quickly as possible. Extensive research and development started in the new field.

While rapidly expanding commercial aviation was reducing the distances between the world's major cities, Svenska Flygmotor was developing ever-closer co-operation with the world-leading engine manufacturers.

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