The Early History of the Swedish

Air Force

The Swedish Air Force was established as an independent armed service on 1 July 1926. However, already in the 1910s, there were aviation activities in the Army. The first army flight took place on the ice outside Stockholm in 1912. The Navy was also early with aviation and in February 1919 the Navy established a winter flying training school in Hägernäs just north of Stockholm. At this time air reconnaissance was the most important mission for military aviation. The Army Aviation was at first organized within the Signal Troops. In 1913 the army aviation was expanding and the flying activities were moved to the military airbase Malmen outside the city of Linköping. As mentioned above the initial flying activities was air reconnaissance but now also fighter aircraft and bombers were being used. One of the things stipulated in the 1925 Defense Act was the establishment of a new independent armed service, The Swedish Air Force, effective as of 1 July 1926. However, the first Commander in chief of the Air Force was appointed already on 1 July 1925. The new Swedish Air Force was organized on four Flying Corps; 1st Flying Corps in Västerås, 2nd Flying Corps in Hägernäs north of Stockholm, 3rd Flying Corps at Malmen in Linköping, and 4th Flying Corps in Frösön, Jämtland. An Air Force Flying School was established in Ljungbyhed, Skåne. The mission of the four Flying Corps was initially air reconnaissance and watching over the Swedish borders and preventing violations. At the end of the 1920s, the aircraft of the Air Force were renewed and 18 new military aircraft were acquired; Svenska Aero J 5 and J 6 Jaktfalken and 12 British J 7 Bristol Bulldog.

The Swedish Air Force is Expanding

The Defense Act of 1936 signified a large armament of the Swedish Armed Forces. The armament also included a stronger air force. The four earlier Flying Corps was now reorganized into Wings (UK) or Groups (US). Further, 3 new wings were established. The Air Force now consisted of 4 bomber wings, one fighter wing, and two air reconnaissance wings. The fighter wing was located to the F8 Wing (Svea flygflottilj F8) at Barkaby airbase north of Stockholm. The armament of the air force also resulted in a domestic Swedish aircraft industry when Saab was founded in 1937 in Linköping. Saab stands for Svenska Aeroplan AB (Swedish Aerospace Inc), a Swedish aerospace and defense company. The first Swedish military aircraft constructed by Saab was the bomber Saab 17. The image to the right shows the Swedish light bomber Saab B17A. Wikipedia. Saab 17 was built in two versions; bomber and air reconnaissance. The first set of aircraft was delivered to the Air Force on 23 March 1942. In total 324 Saab 17 were being built. The Saab 18 was a twin-engine bomber and fighter with a crew of three; pilot, navigator, and bombardier. It was first used by the air force in June 1944. The image to the left shows the Swedish bomber Saab B18A circa 1946. Wikipedia. The J 22 was a Swedish fighter aircraft made by Flygförvaltningens Flygverkstad in Stockholm and designed by flight engineer Bo Lundberg. It was a fighter aircraft but it also served as air reconnaissance aircraft. The first J 22 was delivered in October 1943 and went to the F9 Wing (Göta flygflottilj F 9). The J 22 was very maneuverable with a fast acceleration. With a well- trained pilot, the performance of the J 22 was in class with other nations fighter aircraft at the time. The image to the right shows the Swedish fighter J 22 in the air during the second world war. Image Wikipedia. The J 22 was constructed with some special demands of the building material of the aircraft. There was a shortage of aluminum during the war and the aluminum available was prioritized for the Saab production of the bombers. The J 22 was therefore constructed with a frame of steel covered with die-casted plywood of birch, nothing unusual for aircraft at the time. The Swedish fleet of fighter aircraft was strengthened during WWII, especially after the Battle of Britain where the fighter aircraft had decisive importance to the British victory. New fighter wings were established and the air force now consisted of 16 wings; six bomber wings, six fighter wings, three air reconnaissance, and one air torpedo wing. The number of aircraft increased from 180 in 1939 to 600 in 1945. The large expansion of the Swedish Air Force continued during the first decades after the war. Swedish Air Wings in the 1900s. The Cold War was a period of a large and rapid expansion of the Swedish Air Force. The domestically produced aircraft of course favored SAAB in Linköping. In the 1950s the first Swedish jet aircraft such as the J 29 Tunnan, A 32 Lansen, and J 35 Draken was delivered to the air force.

Uniforms of the Swedish Air

Force

When the Swedish military aviation after the first world war received the status of an independent permanent armed service in 1926 the question of Swedish aviation uniform arose. The Swedish Air Force adopted a uniform on the French model. This was a uniform based on the traditional naval officers’ uniform, however single-breasted. • Uniformes of the Swedish Air Force

Uniforms of the Swedish Armed

Forces

• Uniforms of the Swedish Air Force • Swedish Military Aircraft • Uniforms of the Swedish Army • Uniforms of the Swedish Navy • Uniforms of the Swedish Amphibious Corps • Swedish Military Rank Insignias

Reference Literature

1. Flygvapnets historia, överstelöjtnant Lennert Berns 2. Svenska flygvapnets förband och skolor under 1900-talet, Christian Braunstein, 2003 3. Försvarets historiska telesamingar, Flyghistoria från SFF, Flygvapnet 4. Wikipedia 5. Digitalmuseum Is it OK to copy material (text or images) from this page or from any other page on this website and publish it on your own homepage? The answer is NO! However, it is OK to have a link to my pages. Top of page