Vice Admiral Carl Einar Blidberg (20 September 1906 – 21 March 1993) 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. Blidberg served as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1957 to 1961, Chief of the

Coastal Fleet The Coastal Fleet ( sv, Kustflottan, Kfl) was until 1994 a Swedish Navy authority with the main task of training the naval ships commanders and crews. After the formation of the authority Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the Coastal Fleet remained ...

from 1962 to 1966, and as commanding officer of the Naval Command East and the East Coast Naval Base from 1966 to 1971.

Early life

Blidberg was born on 20 September 1906 in

Kramfors Kramfors () is a locality and the seat of Kramfors Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It had a population of 5,990 inhabitants in 2010. The town grew on the western bank of the Ångerman river in the 19th century as harvested logs we ...

, Sweden, the son of Tage Blidberg and his wife Ragnhild (née Ekelund). In 1923, Blidberg served as an extra cadet on the coastal defence ship when the

Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf Ado ...

went to

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 ...

for the engagement with

Louise Mountbatten Louise Alexandra Marie Irene Mountbatten (born Princess Louise of Battenberg; 13 July 1889 – 7 March 1965) was Queen of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until her death in 1965 as the wife of King Gustaf VI Adolf. Born a princess of the German ...

, our future queen. After passing ''

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

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 ...

in 1925, he was accepted as a sea cadet.

Career

After the then current course of study with practical courses at sea and two winters 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 ...

Skeppsholmen Skeppsholmen is one of the islands of Stockholm. It is connected with Blasieholmen and Kastellholmen by bridges. It is accessible by foot from Kungsträdgården, past the Grand Hôtel and Nationalmuseum, by bus number 65, or by boat from Slus ...

, Blidberg was commissioned as an officer in the

in 1928 with the rank of acting sub-lieutenant. Blidberg started as an artilleryman on the ''Sverige''-class coastal defence ship and on destroyers. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1930. The culmination of his artillery activities came in 1934, when he, as an artillery officer on destroyers at a maximum firing distance of two and a half minutes without test firing and with an eight-second salvo rate, had a hit rate of 25%. As an artilleryman, he won two Bofors trophies and a King's trophy (''Kungapokal''). From 1935 to 1936, Blidberg served as a Deputy Naval Attaché in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He served as commanding officer on destroyers in 1943, 1944 and in 1947. After completing 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 ...

's general and higher course, he came to be used in many important positions and investigations. He was promoted to commander in 1944 and served as a teacher at the

from 1945 to 1948. Blidberg served as chief of staff of the East Coast Naval District in 1949, head of department in the Defence Staff from 1950 to 1952, and commanded the cruiser in 1952. He was promoted to captain in 1953 and served as

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

of the

from 1953 to 1956, and in 1957 he was promoted to rear admiral. He then served as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1957 to 1961 and as Acting Chief of the

in 1961 and as Chief of the

from 1962 to 1966. As a practical sailor with experience from both the large ships and destroyers and with deep knowledge, he strongly influenced the development of tactics. This was especially evident during his time as Chief of the Coastal Fleet. The new operational tactics, which were developed and which primarily aimed at surprising attacks after breaking out of the archipelago and then rapid attacks against a detected enemy force, were based on advanced navigation using radar. An important aid was a so-called navigation disc developed by him. The method was also used during his time as a consultant at the

Swedish Maritime Administration The Swedish Maritime Administration ( sv, Sjöfartsverket) is the government agency in Sweden which provides services to the transport sector by keeping the sea lanes open and safe. The agency is to a certain degree financed through fees levied o ...

for training pilots in navigating tankers in archipelago routes in difficult conditions and in navigating supertankers in waters such as the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. In 1966, Blidberg became commanding officer of the Naval Command East which the same year became the East Coast Naval Base. As commander of the East Coast Naval Base (and former chief of staff), he had a decisive influence on the navy's relocation to

Muskö Muskö is an island in the southern part of Stockholm archipelago, which forms part of Haninge Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. It is best known for the Muskö naval base. There are also two urban areas (''tätort'') on the island: Musk� ...

. At 07:59 on Wednesday morning, 16 July 1969, rear admiral Blidberg, boarded a longboat at

. The time was deliberately chosen - no swallowtailed naval ensign was hoisted over the Admiralty House. The naval base had regrouped to Muskö after 329 years in central

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 ...

. Blidberg retired two years later in 1971 and was promoted to vice admiral. Blidberg served as chairman of the Swedish Society for Maritime History (''Sjöhistoriska samfundet'') from 1968 to 1987 and later became an honorary member of the same. After retirement, Blidberg served as a nautical consultant in many at the

from 1971 to 1983.

Personal life

In 1937, Blidberg married Ingrid Harboe (1915–1993), the daughter of Henrik Harboe and Anna de Verdier. He was the father of Carl-Henrik (born 1938), Ragnhild (born 1939), Eva (born 1941), Irene (born 1945), Einar (born 1948).

Death

Blidberg died on 21 March 1993 in

. The funeral service was held on 13 April 1993 in

Skeppsholmen Church The Skeppsholmen Church ( sv, Skeppsholmskyrkan) is a former church on the islet of Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, Sweden. History Named after its location, the church was built 1823-1849 to replace a minor wooden church on Blasieholmen destr ...

in Stockholm. He was interred at

Galärvarvskyrkogården Galärvarvskyrkogården (literally Galley Shipyard Cemetery) is a cemetery on the island of Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It has about 1,300 burial sites and an area of approximately 0.9 hectares. History Galärvarvskyrkogården in Djurgård ...

on 30 June 1993.

Dates of rank

*1928 –

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 ...

*1930 –

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 ...

*1939 –

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 ...

*1945 –

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 ...

*1950 –

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. ...

*1953 –

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 ...

*1957 –

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 ...

*1971 – Vice admiral

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander Grand Cross 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) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

(28 November 1959) * Order_of_the_Vasa_-_Ribbon_bar

Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry, awarded to citizens of Sweden for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. It was instituted on 29 May 1772 by King Gustav III. It was u ...

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 ...

' Gold Medal *

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 ...

's Silver Medal * Ahlberg Prize (''Ahlbergska priset'')

Foreign

St_Olavs_Orden_kommandør_med_stjerne_stripe

Commander with Star of the Order of St. Olav (1 July 1962) * FIN_Order_of_the_Lion_of_Finland_3Class_BAR

Commander of the

Order of the Lion of Finland The Order of the Lion of Finland ( fi, Suomen Leijonan ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Lejons orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty and the Order of the White Rose of Finland. The President o ...

Knight of the

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

Honours

*Member of the

(1943; also honorary member) *Member of the

(1956) *Honorary member of the Swedish Society for Maritime History (''Sjöhistoriska samfundet'')

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blidberg, Einar 1906 births 1993 deaths Swedish Navy vice admirals People from Kramfors Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Vasa Burials at Galärvarvskyrkogården