Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Bengt Rosenius (30 November 1918 – 28 December 1979) was a

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

officer. Rosenius served as wing commander of the Östgöta Wing, Inspector of Flight Safety and commanding officer of the Attack Group. Later in his career he served two years as War Materials Inspector and head of the

National Swedish War Materials Inspectorate The National Swedish War Materials Inspectorate ( sv, Krigsmaterielinspektionen, KMI), was a Swedish governmental organization established in 1935 and existing until 1 February 1996. It was merged with the strategic export control activities in the ...

Early life

Rosenius was born on 30 November 1918 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden, the son of Nils Rosenius, an accountant, and his wife Edith (née Horwitz). He passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968 ...

'' in 1938.

Career

He was commissioned as an officer in the

in 1941 with rank of second lieutenant. Rosenius was promoted to captain in 1948 and was the same year course director at the Royal Swedish Air Force College (''Flygkadettskolan'') in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

. Rosenius then attended the staff course at the

Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College __NOTOC__ Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College ( sv, Flygkrigshögskolan, FKHS) was established in 1939 and located in Stockholm. It was under the command of the Chief of the Swedish Air Force. From the start, one-year higher courses in staff ser ...

from 1948 to 1949. He was promoted to major in 1954 and to lieutenant colonel in 1957, the same year he attended the

Swedish National Defence College The Swedish Defence University ( sv, Försvarshögskolan, FHS) is situated on Drottning Kristinas väg 37 in Östermalm, Stockholm City Centre, next to the campus of the Royal Institute of Technology. History Today's Swedish Defence University ma ...

. Rosenius was head of the Air Staff's Education Department from 1956 to 1958 and of the Defence Staff's Section III (Press Department) from 1958 to 1961. In 1961, Rosenius served as Senior Air Staff Officer in the United Nations (

ONUC The United Nations Operation in the Congo (french: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo, abbreviated to ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the ...

) Air Force in

Congo Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

during the

Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...

. In 1962, he was promoted to colonel and appointed wing commander of Östgöta Wing in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

. In 1965, Rosenius was appointed Inspector of Flight Safety (''Inspektör för flygsäkerhetstjänsten''). The same year he became a board member of the

Civil Aviation Administration The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible f ...

. Rosenius was promoted to major general in 1973 and was appointed commanding officer of the Attack Group. Rosenius retired from active service in 1977 and on 1 July he took up the position as War Materials Inspector and head of the

. Rosenius held the position until his death on 28 December 1979.

Personal life

In 1944, he married Ingela Hagner (born 1921), the daughter of Gustav Hagner and Hertha Hagner. They had two children; Marianne (born 1945) and Ulrika (born 1957).

Death

Rosenius died on 28 December 1979 and was buried at the Northern Crematorium at

Norra begravningsplatsen Norra begravningsplatsen, literally "The Northern Cemetery" in Swedish, is a major cemetery of the Stockholm urban area, located in Solna Municipality. Inaugurated on 9 June 1827, it is the burial site for a number of Swedish notables. Nota ...

in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

*1941 –

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

*1943 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

*1948 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*1954 –

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

*1957 –

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

*1962 –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

*1973 –

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

(6 June 1969) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(6 June 1966)

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden and was founded on 12 November 1796 by Gustaf Wilhelm af Tibell. The academy is an independent organization and a forum for m ...

(1966)

Filmography

*''

Första divisionen ''Första divisionen'' ( eng, First Squadron) is a 1941 Swedish drama film directed by Hasse Ekman. Plot summary After a period of hospitalization, caused by an aircraft accident, second lieutenant Gunnar Bråde returns to his old squadron. Dur ...

'' (1941) - air force officer at the farewell dinner

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenius, Bengt 1918 births 1979 deaths Swedish Air Force major generals Military personnel from Stockholm Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen People of the Congo Crisis