Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Dick Stenberg (21 January 1921 – 27 September 2004) 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. Stenberg was commissioned as an officer in 1942 and was later the commanding officer of

Södertörn Wing Södertörn Wing ( sv, Södertörns flygflottilj), also F 18 Tullinge, or simply F 18, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located in Tullinge just south-west of the capital Stockholm on the east coast. Heraldry and tradition ...

and Chief of the Air Staff. Stenberg ended his military career with the position of Chief of the Air Force from 1973 to 1982.

Early life

Stenberg was born on 21 January 1921 in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabita ...

, Sweden, the son of Karl ''Edvard'' Stenberg, a foreman, and his wife Karin (née Olofsson). 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 ...

'' at the Higher General Grammar School for Boys in Södermalm (Södra Latin) 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 ...

on 10 May 1939. Stenberg became an officer aspirant in the

on 16 June 1939 and was commissioned as an officer with the rank of second lieutenant on 24 March 1942.

Career

He was a flight instructor at the

Swedish Air Force Flying School Swedish Air Force Flying School ( sv, Krigsflygskolan), also F 5 Ljungbyhed, or simply F 5, is a former Swedish Air Force training wing with the main base located in Ljungbyhed in southern Sweden. History The moor at Ljungby was adopted for milit ...

(F 5) from 1942 to 1948 and he was promoted to ''

löjtnant ''Löjtnant'' ( en, Lieutenant in the Swedish Army/Air Force, Sub-lieutenant in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above second lieutenant and below captain. In the navy, it ranks above acting sub-lieutenant ...

'' on 14 April 1944. Stenberg underwent flight instructor courses at the Royal Air Force Flight Academy from 1944 to 1948 and was admitted to 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 ...

in Stockholm in 1948 and he was promoted to ''

kapten ''Kapten'' ( en, Captain in the Swedish Army/Air Force, ''Lieutenant'' in the Navy) is a company grade officer rank. In the army/airforce, it ranks above lieutenant and below major. In the navy, it ranks above sub-lieutenant and below lieutenant co ...

'' on 1 April 1949. He was then a fighter pilot and was squadron leader at Svea Wing (F 8) from 1949 to 1954 and became major on 1 October 1954 and was head of the Aviation Department at

(F 18) in 1955. Stenberg became chief of staff of the Third Air Group (''Tredje flygeskadern'', E 3) on 1 May 1957 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 October 1958 and was appointed head of the Aviation and Air Defence Department at the Defence Staff on 1 April 1960. He was aviation commander of the 22 U.N. Fighter Squadron (F 22) in Congo 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 ...

from November 1962 to April 1963. The core of the Swedish squadron consisted of 11

Saab 29 Tunnan The Saab 29 ''Tunnan'', colloquially ''Flygande tunnan'' or just ''Tunnan'' ( en, "The flying barrel", "The barrel"),. is a Swedish fighter that was designed and manufactured by Saab in the late 1940s. It was the second turbojet-powered comb ...

. Stenberg co-operated there with Sven Lampell, his former classmate from Södra Latin. Back in Sweden, he was promoted to colonel and appointed commanding officer of Södertörn Wing on 1 April (took office on 1 May) 1963. Stenberg was second vice chairman of the Swedish Officers Association from 1963 to 1965, and was appointed aviation inspector and head of the aviation section at the Eastern Military Dustrict Staff on 1 October 1966. He became Vice Chief of the Defence Staff on 1 October 1968, was promoted to major general on 1 November 1968 and was appointed Chief of the Air Staff on 1 April 1970. Stenberg was promoted to lieutenant general and was appointed Chief of the Air Force on 1 October 1973. During his time as Chief of the Air Force, he struggled with the problems surrounding

Saab 37 Viggen The Saab 37 Viggen (Swedish for ''"the Bolt"'' or ''"the Tufted Duck"'' ( see name)) is a retired Swedish single-seat, single-engine, short-medium range combat aircraft. Development work on the type was initiated at Saab in 1952 and, following ...

's successor. Aircraft projects such as B3LA, A 20, Sk 2 and Flygplan 80 were discussed before a political decision of acquiring the

Saab JAS 39 Gripen The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (; English: ''griffin'') is a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stabilit ...

during Stenberg's last year as Chief of the Air Force. Stenberg retired on 30 September 1982.

Other work

Stenberg was the chairman of the Foundation for the Swedish Air Force Museum from 1976 to 1991 and a member of the Military Management Advisory Board between 1 January 1979 and 1982 as well as a 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 ...

in 1971 (president 1977-1979). In addition to his combat airplane training, Stenberg, during his time as the Chief of the Air Force, also took civilian air certificate. After his retirement in 1982, the

Swedish Accident Investigation Authority The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority ( sv, Statens haverikommission, or SHK, in English formerly the Swedish Accident Investigation Board) is a Swedish government agency tasked with investigating all types of serious civil or military acci ...

hired him frequently for several years as a pilot in connection with various assignments in Sweden.

Personal life

On 12 June 1943 in

Sundbyberg Sundbyberg Municipality (''Sundbybergs kommun'' or ''Sundbybergs stad'') is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, just north of the capital Stockholm. Sundbyberg is wholly within the Stockholm urban area and has a 100% urban p ...

he married Maj Gunborg Larsson (1921–2007), the daughter of tram driver Sven Erik Larsson and Ida Sofia Lindström. He was the father of Jan (born 1944) and Eva (born 1947).

Death

Stenberg died on 27 September 2004 in

Bromma Parish Bromma Parish ( sv, Bromma församling) is a parish in Birka church district (''kontrakt'') in the Diocese of Stockholm, Sweden. The parish is located in Stockholm Municipality in Stockholm County. The parish forms its own pastorship. The paris ...

, Stockholm and was buried on 2 November 2004 at Bromma Cemetery.

Dates of rank

*1942 –

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 ...

*1944 –

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 ...

*1949 –

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 ...

*1958 –

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 ...

*1963 –

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 ...

*1968 –

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 ...

*1973 –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander 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 ...

(11 November 1966) * ISL_Icelandic_Order_of_the_Falcon_-_Knight_BAR

Knight's Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...

(1 April 1954) * UN_ONUC_Medal_ribbon

United Nations Medal A United Nations Medal is an international decoration An international decoration is a military award which is not bestowed by a particular country, but rather by an international organization such as the United Nations or NATO. Such awards ar ...

References

External links

Entry
at ''

Svenskt biografiskt lexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered. Volumes # ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...

''
Interview with Stenberg (page 3-4)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stenberg, Dick 1921 births 2004 deaths Swedish Air Force lieutenant generals People from Falun Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders of the Order of the Sword