Datasaab
| Company type | Subsidiary (historical) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware, Aviation electronics |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Headquarters | Linköping , Sweden |
| Products | Navigational computers (e.g. CK37), Civilian mini and mainframe computers (D21, D22, D23, D5, D15, D16) |
| Parent | Saab (originally), later Ericsson, Nokia, ICL |
Datasaab originated as the computing branch within the aircraft manufacturer Saab located in Linköping, Sweden, before eventually becoming an independent entity spun off from Saab.
History
The company's roots trace back to December 1954, when Saab obtained a license from Matematikmaskinnämnden—the Swedish governmental authority overseeing mathematical machinery—to replicate the BESK computer, an early Swedish design based on vacuum tube technology. This replica, finalized in 1957, was named SARA. It served as a vital tool for performing design computations for the next-generation jet fighter, the Saab 37 Viggen.
Aiming to create an onboard navigational computer for aircraft, a project team led by Viggo Wentzel developed a fully transistor-based prototype called D2, completed in 1960. This breakthrough defined Datasaab’s core focus over the following twenty years. The development effort pursued two paths: primarily, the creation of a navigational computer tailored for the Viggen fighter, and secondarily, the production of a series of civilian mini and mainframe computers targeted at commercial users.
The military-grade CK37 navigational computer was finalized in 1971 and integrated into the Viggen aircraft.
The initial civilian model, the D21 (1962), found customers in several countries with approximately 30 units produced. Subsequent models included versions such as D22 (1966), D220, D23, D5, D15, and D16. During the 1960s, when the Swedish government required 20 computers for tax calculations, Saab's machines outperformed those from IBM in evaluations. Later on, the D5 systems were instrumental in establishing the first and largest banking terminal network across the Nordic region—a system partly operational until the late 1980s. Due to significant delays with the D23 system in 1975, large and medium-sized systems operations were spun off into a joint marketing and service company with Sperry UNIVAC, named Saab-Univac. Eventually, Sperry assumed full ownership of Saab-Univac after transitioning Saab’s mainframe customers to the 1100 series.
In 1971, a collaboration between technologies from Standard Radio & Telefon AB (SRT) and Saab resulted in the formation of Stansaab AS, a joint venture that also involved Sweden’s state-owned Development Company. This entity specialized in real-time data systems designed for commercial and aviation sectors.
By 1978, Stansaab merged with Datasaab’s division from Saab-Scania, creating Datasaab AB. Ownership later transferred through several corporations including Ericsson, Nokia, and ICL.
In a notable legal case, when Intel filed suit against competitor UMC alleging patent infringement related to technologies such as processor microcode updates and asynchronous processor components, UMC cited an awarded paper demonstrating these technologies had been implemented in Datasaab’s D23 as early as 1972. Since Intel’s patents dated from 1978, this prior documentation challenged their validity. Ultimately, Intel withdrew the lawsuit.
The academic computer society Lysator at Linköping University was established in 1973 following a donation of a used D21 unit. The legacy of Datasaab has been preserved by its veteran association, Datasaabs Vänner ("Friends of Datasaab"), founded in 1993 to chronicle and disseminate knowledge about Sweden’s computing history with emphasis on Linköping and Datasaab. This group has published five books on Datasaab’s history and maintains an archive of documents and photographs related to its computer systems and products on their website. Since 2004, numerous Datasaab machines have been displayed at the IT-ceum computer museum located in Linköping.
Following multiple mergers, Datasaab became linked to an incident involving illicit technology transfer to the Soviet Union during the late 1970s. In 1973, Swedish supplier Stansaab won a tender to provide civilian air traffic control systems for airports in Moscow, Kyiv, and Mineralnye Vody. A contract was signed with Soviet airline Aeroflot in September 1975. However, some components sourced from the United States required export licenses that Sweden could not secure. To circumvent this restriction, U.S.-origin parts were purchased, relabeled, and smuggled into Moscow via Soviet diplomatic channels. After separating from Saab in 1978 and merging with Stansaab to form Datasaab AB, this air traffic control system allegedly supported Soviet military operations during their December 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. The smuggling scheme was exposed in October 1980 and became known as "the Datasaab affair" (Datasaabaffären). Early in 1981, Ericsson acquired Datasaab and integrated it as Ericsson Information Systems. In April 1984, Ericsson faced a US$3.12 million fine for violating U.S. export regulations and agreed to pay the penalty.