Vice Admiral Bengt Jacob Schuback (15 May 1928 – 4 December 2015) was a

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

officer. He was Chief of the Defence Staff from 1978 to 1982 during which time the Soviet submarine ''U 137'' ran aground in Swedish waters. Schuback was later the commanding officer of the

Southern Military District 200px, Headquarters of the district at 53 Pushkinskaya Street / 43 Budenovsky avenue, Rostov-on-Don The Southern Military District (Russian: Южный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military ...

from 1982 to 1984 and the, Chief of the Navy from 1984 to 1990.

Early life

Schuback was born on 15 May 1928 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 head of department Erik Schuback and his wife Elsa (née Lundén). 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

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 ...

in 1947 and became an aspirant at the

Royal Swedish Naval Academy The Royal Swedish Naval Academy ( sv, Kungliga Sjökrigsskolan, KSS) was a school for officer training for the Swedish Navy, which operated in various forms between the years 1756 and 1987. History 1683–1791 In 1683, when the charter was issue ...

the same year. He finished first in his class and was commissioned as a naval officer in 1950 with the rank of acting sub-lieutenant.

Career

Schuback attended the

Royal Swedish Army Staff College The Royal Swedish Army Staff College ( sv, Kungliga Krigshögskolan, KHS) was a Swedish Army training establishment between 1866 and 1961, providing courses for army officers. It was the home of the Swedish Army's staff college, which provided adv ...

from 1958 to 1960 and the

Royal Swedish Naval Staff College The Royal Swedish Naval Staff College ( sv, Kungliga Sjökrigshögskolan, KSHS) was a Swedish Navy training establishment between 1898 and 1961, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Swedish Navy's staff college, which prov ...

from 1960 to 1961. He attended the

Royal College of Defence Studies The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1975 and completed

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 ...

's management course in 1976. Schuback was promoted to captain and seagoing unit commander in 1974 and to rear admiral and chief of staff of the

Upper Norrland Military District Upper Norrland Military District ( sv, Övre Norrlands militärområde, Milo ÖN), originally VI Military District ( sv, VI. militärområdet) was a Swedish military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Forces that had operational control ov ...

(Milo ÖN) in 1976. He was Vice Chief of the Defence Staff in 1977 and was promoted to vice admiral and Chief of the Defence Staff in 1978. During the many

Swedish submarine incidents The submarine hunts or submarine incidents were a series of several incidents involving foreign submarines that occurred in Swedish territorial waters during the Cold War, attributed in Swedish media to the Soviet Union. On October 27, 1981, the S ...

in the 1960s and 1970s, the media had started talking about "budget submarines". When Schuback, as Chief of the Defence Staff, was reached by the news that the Soviet submarine ''U137'' ran aground in

Blekinge archipelago Blekinge archipelago is an archipelago in the Baltic Sea, located in Blekinge in the south of Sweden. Geography Blekinge archipelago stretches among almost the entire coastline of Blekinge, from west to east. It covers some including water; the ...

in 1981, he spontaneously exclaimed "Finally!". The discussion about "budget submarines" has fallen silent. Schuback in his role as chief of the Defence Staff, had to recreate the Swedish

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

capabilities. New equipment and tactical instructions for the new units were developed under severe time pressure, a strong media pressure and with limited financial resources. Schuback was appointed military commander of the

(Milo S) in 1982 and Chief of the Navy in 1984. He retired and left his post in 1990. After retirement, he devoted much of his time to the Foundation Ymer 80, which supports the Swedish polar research. Schuback was also chairman of the association Friends of the

Vasa Museum The Vasa Museum ( sv, Vasamuseet) is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship '' Vasa'' that sa ...

(''Föreningen Vasamuseets vänner'') and was involved in the creation of the

Stockholm Water Prize Presented annually since 1991, the Stockholm Water Prize is an award that recognizes outstanding achievements in water related activities. Over the past three decades, Stockholm Water Prize Laureates have come from across the world and represente ...

Personal life

In 1952 he married Ann-Mari Hagström (born 1928), the daughter of Folke Hagström and Ingeborg (née Boström). He had three children; Anders, Peter and Katarina.

Death

Schuback died on 4 December 2015 in

. The funeral service was held on 30 December 2015 in in Uppsala.

Dates of rank

Schuback's ranks *1950 –

Acting sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

*1952 –

Sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

*1962 –

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 ...

*1966 –

Lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

*1968 –

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

*1973 –

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 ...

*1976 –

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

*1978 – Vice admiral

Awards and decorations

Knight 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 1968) * Commander with Star of the

Royal Norwegian Order of Merit The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (Norwegian: ''Den Kongelige Norske Fortjenstorden'' (Bokmål) or ''Den Kongelege Norske Fortenesteordenen'' (Nynorsk)) was instituted by King Olav V in 1985. It is awarded to foreigners, Norwegian citizens livin ...

(5 August 1988)

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 ...

(1973) *Member of the

Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences The Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Örlogsmannasällskapet, KÖMS), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden. The Society is an independent organization and a forum for navy and defence i ...

(1967; number 903) *Honorary member of the

*Inspector emeriti of the naval academic association SjöLund

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Bengt Schuback
at

LIBRIS LIBRIS (Library Information System) is a Swedish national union catalogue maintained by the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm. It is possible to freely search about 6.5 million titles nationwide. In addition to bibliographic records, one fo ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schuback, Bengt 1928 births 2015 deaths Swedish Navy vice admirals Military personnel from Stockholm Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Sweden)