General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Lage Gustaf Harald Thunberg (22 March 1905 – 28 September 1997) 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. He was the Chief of the Air Force from 1961 to 1968.

Career

Thunberg was born on 22 March 1905 in

Mörlunda Mörlunda is a locality situated in Hultsfred Municipality, Kalmar County, Sweden with 838 inhabitants in 2010. It gave its name to a community in Greenbrier County, West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atla ...

, Sweden, the son of master builder August Andersson and his wife Adéle (née Thunberg). He was commissioned as an officer with the rank of second lieutenant and assigned to

Kalmar Regiment The Kalmar Regiment ( sv, Kalmar regemente), designations I 20, I 21 and Fo 18, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traced its origins back to the 16th century. It was merged with another unit to form a new regiment in 1928. It was later rer ...

(I 21) in 1927 and was transferred to the

in 1933. Thunberg won the Nordic flying competition ''Nordisk flygarpokal'' in 1934 and 1936. He was promoted to captain in 1937 and was head of the Royal Swedish Air Force College (''Flygvapnets kadettskola'') from 1939 to 1943. He was promoted to major in 1942 and to lieutenant colonel in 1944. Thunberg was commanding officer of the

Bråvalla Wing Bråvalla Wing ( sv, Bråvalla flygflottilj), also F 13 Norrköping, or simply F 13, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Norrköping in south-eastern Sweden. History The Air Wing was established in 1943 as the fourt ...

(F 13) from 1944 to 1947 (acting in 1943) and was promoted to colonel in the

the same year. In 1947 he was transferred to the

Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration The Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration ( sv, Kungliga Flygförvaltningen, abbreviated KFF) was a Swedish government agency active between the years 1936 and 1968. The agency was amalgamated into the Swedish Defence Materiel Administr ...

. There Thunberg was head of the Equipment Office from 1947 to 1949, of the Aircraft Office from 1949 to 1950, of the Materiel Department from 1950 to 1954 and of the Aircraft Department from 1954 to 1957. He was promoted to major general in 1957 and was then commanding officer of the Third Air Group (''Tredje flygeskadern'', E 3) from 1958 to 1960 and vice chief of the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration from 1960 to 1961. Thunberg was promoted to lieutenant general in 1961 and was appointed Chief of the Air Force. He retired from the military in 1968 and was promoted to full general. Thunberg then served 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 ...

from 1968 and 1977.

Personal life

In 1935 he married Birgit Bergström (born 1905), the daughter of factory manager Edvin Bergström and Fanny (née Gihl). Thunberg died on 28 September 1977 and was buried 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 ...

in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

*1926 –

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 ...

*1929 –

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 ...

*1937 –

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 ...

*1942 –

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 ...

*1944 –

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 ...

*1947 –

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 ...

*1957 –

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 ...

*1961 –

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 ...

*1968 –

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 1963) * Order of the Polar Star - Ribbon bar, pre 1975

Knight of the

Order of the Polar Star The Royal Order of the Polar Star (Swedish: ''Kungliga Nordstjärneorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the Seraphim. The Order of the ...

SWE Order of Vasa - Knight 2nd Class 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 ...

Foreign

1st Class / Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

(13 April 1966) * St Olavs Orden storkors stripe

Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (1 July 1967) * Order of Orange-Nassau ribbon - Grand Officer

Grand Officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

with Swords *

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

(6 April 1962)

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 ...

(1954) *President of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1965–1967)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thunberg, Lage 1905 births 1997 deaths Swedish Air Force generals People from Hultsfred Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of the Polar Star Knights of the Order of Vasa Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Burials at Galärvarvskyrkogården