The three Schweizer brothers, Ernest, Paul and William, were convinced that the future of sailplanes was in all-metal construction. They had great success with their SGS 2 - 8, 29 better known as the TG - 2. It had broken soaring records in 1940 and then was adopted and manufactured in quantity for military training. It had a welded steel tube fuselage, fabric covered, with aluminum alloy wings. They had built the SGS 2 - 12 (TG - 3) with wooden wings only because they were officially instructed to do so during the wartime of shortage of aircraft alloys.

Post war, they hoped for a rapid growth in the soaring movement and believed there was an urgent need for some robust two-seat trainers. The TG - 2 had never really been intended for this role. It was a sailplane for performance and the rear pilot was not in a good position to act as instructor.

The TG - 3 was better in this respect but it had always been a military glider and had a very limited soaring performance. Something entirely new was required and Ernie Schweizer, the oldest of the three, began on the design in 1945. The prototype flew in early February 1946.

The 2 - 22 had a high wing with strut bracing, the steel tube, fabric covered fuselage having a triangular cross section aft of the wing. The tail unit was also fabricated in light steel tubing. The wing was all light alloy, sheet covered ahead of the spar and fabric covered behind.

The seats were in tandem, the front cockpit, for the pupil, enclosed by a transparent windscreen and sidepieces. The rear cockpit, under the leading edge of the wing, was not enclosed at all. The instructor could thus lean slightly to either side and see directly ahead. The view upward from this position was obstructed by the wing. The instructor had to get into place before the pupil, clambering in over the cockpit side with the help of the step provided. The pupil could then climb in and close the cockpit canopy.

All the preliminary test flights went well except that the 2 - 22 seemed incapable of spinning, even when ballast was added to the tail to move the center of gravity well beyond the normal aft limits. Yet to demonstrate that recovery from a spin was possible, was part of the FAA requirements before type approval could be granted. The rudder stops were repositioned allowing the sailplane to be forced into a spin that was demonstrable.

After this the rudder stops were put back to their original position. The Schweizer's felt it safer to teach student pilots first in a sailplane which would not spin. They could be transferred later, perhaps to one of the old ex-military aircraft, for this part of their training.

Apart from having all the characteristics required of a safe trainer, the 2 - 22 climbed readily in thermals because of its low wing loading. It was suitable for winch launching but, increasingly, the practice in the USA was for all launches to be by aircraft tow. The 2 - 22 was well suited to this.

Production began in May 1946. Sales were not at first very rapid. Despite their limitations, ex-military sailplanes were available at a third of the cost of the 2 - 22. Not till 1957 did the total production of the 2-22 exceed fifty.

The 2 - 22A, which was designed in response to a requirement of the Air Force Academy, had improvements including a fully enclosed rear cockpit with a side door for access. The 2 -22C, for the civilian clubs, had ailerons of narrower chord to reduce the stick forces, and kits were offered. Seventy-five plus twenty-two kits were sold and thirty were delivered to the Indonesian Air Force.

Further changes, including a new, molded canopy and increased area of transparency for the instructor, improving the view upwards, resulted in the 2 - 22E of 1963. Of this eighty-seven were built with twenty-two kits, before production ceased in 1967. The replacement was the SGS 2 - 33.