Datasaab
Encyclopedia
Datasaab was the computer division of and later a separate company spun off from aircraft manufacturer Saab
in Linköping
, Sweden
. Its history dates back to December 1954, when Saab got a license to build its own copy of BESK
, an early Swedish computer design using vacuum tube
s, from Matematikmaskinnämnden (the Swedish governmental board for mathematical machinery). This clone was completed in 1957 and was named SARA
. Its computing power was needed for design calculations for the next generation jet fighter Saab 37 Viggen.
Intending to develop a navigational computer to place in an airplane
, a team led by Viggo Wentzel came up with an all transistor
ized prototype computer named D2
, completed in 1960, which came to define the company's activities in the following two decades. This development followed two lines. The main purpose was the development of a navigational computer for Viggen. A spinoff was the production of a line of civilian mini and mainframe computers for the commercial market.
The military navigational computer CK37 was completed in 1971 and used in Viggen.
The first civilian model D21 (1962) was sold to several countries and some 30 units were built. After that, several versions with names like D22 (1966), D220, D23, D5, D15, and D16 were developed. When the Swedish government needed 20 computers in the 1960s to calculate taxes, an evaluation between Saab's and IBM's machines proved Saab's better. Later the D5s were used to set up the first and largest bank terminal system for the Nordic
banks, a system which was partly in use until the late 1980s.
In 1971, technologies from Standard Radio & Telefon AB
(SRT) and Saab were combined to form Stansaab
AS, a joint venture that also included the state-owned Swedish Development Company. The company’s primary focus was systems for real-time data applied to commercial and aviation applications.
In 1975, the D23 system was seriously delayed and the solution was a joint company with Sperry UNIVAC
. In 1978, this company merged with a division of Saab and became Datasaab. It was later owned by Ericsson
, Nokia
and ICL.
When Intel sued the competitor UMC
for patent
infringement over technologies including microcode
updates of processor
s and different parts of the processor working asynchronously, UMC could point to an awarded paper describing how these technologies had been used in the D23 already in 1972. Since Intel's patents were from 1978, that paper would prove prior art and imply that the patents never should have been granted at all. The case was later dropped.
The academic computer society Lysator
at Linköping University
was founded in 1973 when a donation of an old used D21 was arranged. The company's history has been documented by members of its veteran society, Datasaabs Vänner ("Friends of Datasaab"), founded in 1993 to document and spread information about the computer history of Sweden, with focus on the region of Linköping and Datasaab. The society has documented the Datasaab history in five books, and documents and pictures of computer systems and products developed and produced by Datasaab are presented at the society homepage. Since 2004 many Datasaab computers are exhibited at the IT-ceum computer museum in Linköping.
After a series of mergers, the name Datasaab became connected with an incident of illegal technology transfer
to the Soviet Union
in the late 1970s. This is summarized in a chapter of the book Techno-Bandits (1984). A 1973 bid for tender for a civilian air traffic control
system at the airports in Moscow
, Kiev
, and Mineralnye Vody
was won by Swedish supplier Stansaab
. A contract between Stansaab and Aeroflot
was signed in September 1975. However, parts of the delivered system relied on components from the U.S.A., for which the Swedes couldn't get the necessary export licenses. So they bought U.S. components, relabeled them and smuggled them to Moscow using Soviet diplomats. In 1978, Stansaab changed its name to Datasaab. Allegedly the air traffic control system did support the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
in December 1979. The smuggling operation was uncovered in October 1980, known as "the Datasaab affair" (Datasaabaffären). In early 1981, Datasaab was acquired by Ericsson
and became its computing division Ericsson Information Systems. In April 1984 Ericsson was fined US$3.12 million for breach of U.S. export controls, and agreed to pay.
Saab
Saab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile, and between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, known as Saab-Scania.-History:"Svenska...
in Linköping
Linköping
Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Its history dates back to December 1954, when Saab got a license to build its own copy of BESK
BESK
BESK was Sweden's first electronic computer, using vacuum tubes instead of relays. It was developed by Matematikmaskinnämnden and during a short time it was the fastest computer in the world. The computer was completed in 1953 and in use until 1966...
, an early Swedish computer design using vacuum tube
Vacuum tube
In electronics, a vacuum tube, electron tube , or thermionic valve , reduced to simply "tube" or "valve" in everyday parlance, is a device that relies on the flow of electric current through a vacuum...
s, from Matematikmaskinnämnden (the Swedish governmental board for mathematical machinery). This clone was completed in 1957 and was named SARA
SARA (computer)
SARA was developed by SAAB when the capacity of BESK was insufficient for their needs. The project was started the fall of 1955 and became operational in 1956...
. Its computing power was needed for design calculations for the next generation jet fighter Saab 37 Viggen.
Intending to develop a navigational computer to place in an airplane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
, a team led by Viggo Wentzel came up with an all transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
ized prototype computer named D2
Datasaab D2
thumb|right|200px|Datasaab D2 computer at IT-ceumthumb|right|200px|Front panelD2 was a concept and prototype computer designed by Datasaab in Linköping, Sweden. It was built with discrete transistors and completed in 1960...
, completed in 1960, which came to define the company's activities in the following two decades. This development followed two lines. The main purpose was the development of a navigational computer for Viggen. A spinoff was the production of a line of civilian mini and mainframe computers for the commercial market.
The first civilian model D21 (1962) was sold to several countries and some 30 units were built. After that, several versions with names like D22 (1966), D220, D23, D5, D15, and D16 were developed. When the Swedish government needed 20 computers in the 1960s to calculate taxes, an evaluation between Saab's and IBM's machines proved Saab's better. Later the D5s were used to set up the first and largest bank terminal system for the Nordic
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
banks, a system which was partly in use until the late 1980s.
In 1971, technologies from Standard Radio & Telefon AB
Standard Radio & Telefon AB
Standard Radio & Telefon AB was a Swedish telecommunications and computer manufacturer, at one time part of the ITT Corporation. They developed an advanced mainframe as well as a computer terminal called Alfaskop that became an export success. A bit much of a success, since an export of a system...
(SRT) and Saab were combined to form Stansaab
Stansaab
Stansaab AS was a company founded in 1971 in Barkarby, outside Stockholm, Sweden. The company was a joint venture between Standard Radio & Telefon AB , Saab Scania, the car and aeroplane manufacturer and the state-owned Swedish Development Company. The company’s primary focus was systems for...
AS, a joint venture that also included the state-owned Swedish Development Company. The company’s primary focus was systems for real-time data applied to commercial and aviation applications.
In 1975, the D23 system was seriously delayed and the solution was a joint company with Sperry UNIVAC
UNIVAC
UNIVAC is the name of a business unit and division of the Remington Rand company formed by the 1950 purchase of the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation, founded four years earlier by ENIAC inventors J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly, and the associated line of computers which continues to this day...
. In 1978, this company merged with a division of Saab and became Datasaab. It was later owned by Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
, Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
and ICL.
When Intel sued the competitor UMC
United Microelectronics Corporation
UMC was founded as Taiwan's first semiconductor company in 1980 as a spin-off of the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute .-Overview:...
for patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
infringement over technologies including microcode
Microcode
Microcode is a layer of hardware-level instructions and/or data structures involved in the implementation of higher level machine code instructions in many computers and other processors; it resides in special high-speed memory and translates machine instructions into sequences of detailed...
updates of processor
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
s and different parts of the processor working asynchronously, UMC could point to an awarded paper describing how these technologies had been used in the D23 already in 1972. Since Intel's patents were from 1978, that paper would prove prior art and imply that the patents never should have been granted at all. The case was later dropped.
The academic computer society Lysator
Lysator
Lysator is an academic computer club at Linköping University, Sweden with almost 600 members. It is an independent non-profit society, separate from the students' union and the faculties of the university.- History :...
at Linköping University
Linköping University
Linköping University is a state university in Linköping, Sweden. Linköping University was granted full university status in 1975 and is now one of Sweden's larger academic institutions. Education, research and PhD training are the mission of four faculties: Arts and Sciences, Educational...
was founded in 1973 when a donation of an old used D21 was arranged. The company's history has been documented by members of its veteran society, Datasaabs Vänner ("Friends of Datasaab"), founded in 1993 to document and spread information about the computer history of Sweden, with focus on the region of Linköping and Datasaab. The society has documented the Datasaab history in five books, and documents and pictures of computer systems and products developed and produced by Datasaab are presented at the society homepage. Since 2004 many Datasaab computers are exhibited at the IT-ceum computer museum in Linköping.
After a series of mergers, the name Datasaab became connected with an incident of illegal technology transfer
Technology transfer
Technology Transfer, also called Transfer of Technology and Technology Commercialisation, is the process of skill transferring, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and facilities among governments or universities and other institutions to ensure that...
to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in the late 1970s. This is summarized in a chapter of the book Techno-Bandits (1984). A 1973 bid for tender for a civilian air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
system at the airports in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, and Mineralnye Vody
Mineralnye Vody
Mineralnye Vody is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, which lies along the Kuma River and the main rail line between Rostov-on-Don and Baku . Population:...
was won by Swedish supplier Stansaab
Stansaab
Stansaab AS was a company founded in 1971 in Barkarby, outside Stockholm, Sweden. The company was a joint venture between Standard Radio & Telefon AB , Saab Scania, the car and aeroplane manufacturer and the state-owned Swedish Development Company. The company’s primary focus was systems for...
. A contract between Stansaab and Aeroflot
Aeroflot
OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
was signed in September 1975. However, parts of the delivered system relied on components from the U.S.A., for which the Swedes couldn't get the necessary export licenses. So they bought U.S. components, relabeled them and smuggled them to Moscow using Soviet diplomats. In 1978, Stansaab changed its name to Datasaab. Allegedly the air traffic control system did support the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in December 1979. The smuggling operation was uncovered in October 1980, known as "the Datasaab affair" (Datasaabaffären). In early 1981, Datasaab was acquired by Ericsson
Ericsson
Ericsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
and became its computing division Ericsson Information Systems. In April 1984 Ericsson was fined US$3.12 million for breach of U.S. export controls, and agreed to pay.