Nils Ivar (''Nils-Ivar'') Carlborg (29 March 1913 – 21 September 2005) was a Swedish Army officer. He started the

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

training in Sweden and founded the Swedish Army Paratroop School of which he was its first commander (1952–1953). He later served as head of the

Military Academy Karlberg Military Academy Karlberg ( sv, Militärhögskolan Karlberg, MHS K) is a Swedish military academy, since its inauguration in 1792 in operation in the Karlberg Palace in Solna, just north of central Stockholm. It is thus the oldest military acad ...

(1964–1969) and as commander of

Stockholm Defence District Stockholm Defence District ( sv, Stockholms försvarsområde, Fo 44), was a Swedish defence district which operated from 1939 to 2000. Fo 44 was responsible for the defence of Stockholm and its key task was to protect the national Swedish adminis ...

(1969–1973) and as the Commandant of Stockholm (1969–1973).

Early life

Carlborg was born on 29 March 1913 in Småland Artillery Regiment Parish (''Smålands artilleriregementes församling''),

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...

, Sweden, the son of lieutenant colonel Nils Gustaf Carlborg och Elisabeth Hugoson. Carlborg passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and r ...

'' in

Skövde Skövde () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and urban centre in Skövde Municipality and Västra Götaland County, in the Västergötland, Västergötland (Western Gothland region) in central Southern Sweden. Skövde is situated some 150 ...

in 1931.

Career

Carlborg graduated from

in 1934 and was commissioned as an officer the same year and was assigned to

Svea Artillery Regiment The Svea Artillery Regiment ( sv, Svea artilleriregemente), designation A 1, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. It was disbanded in 1997. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from S ...

as a second lieutenant, where he was promoted to ''

underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 192 ...

'' in 1936, and to lieutenant in 1938 and to captain in 1942. He attended the General Artillery Course at the Artillery and Engineering College from 1936 to 1938 and studied at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1940 to 1942. He entered the

General Staff Corps General Staff Corps ( sv, Generalstabskåren, Gst) was an administrative corps within the Swedish Armed Forces between 1937 and 1990 and consisted of Swedish Army officers chosen for duty in the Defence Staff and Army Staff. It replaced the earli ...

in 1944 and served for the next few years in staffs, among other things in the Army Inspectorate (''Arméinspektionen'') in the Army Staff where in 1948 he was given the task of writing regulations for combat against airborne forces. To gain personal insight into an attacker's possibilities and limitations, he underwent parachute training in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The experience from this led him to propose that Swedish airborne ranger units be established, as the costs should be able to be reduced to a reasonable level. The proposal was heard and a trial course in parachute service was held under his leadership in 1951. This in turn led to the formation of the Swedish Army Paratroop School in 1952. Carlborg was promoted to major in Boden Artillery Regiment this year and was the school's first head from 1952 to 1953. He was transferred to

Småland Artillery Regiment The Småland Artillery Regiment ( sv, Smålands artilleriregemente), designation A 6, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment raised in 1895. It was disbanded in 1985. The regiment was based in Jönköping. Locations and training areas Barracks ...

in 1954 and served in the Army Staff from 1955. In 1957 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel at Småland Artillery Regiment and during the same year he served as acting regimental commander of the regiment, after which he served in the regiment until 1960. In 1960 he was promoted to colonel in Småland Artillery Regiment, whereupon he served as Defence District Commander of Kalmar Defence District (''Kalmar försvarsområde'', Fo 18) and of Växjö Defence District (''Växjö försvarsområde'', Fo 16) from 1960 to 1961 and as army attaché at the Swedish Embassy in London and in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

from 1961 to 1964. Carlborg was head of Military Academy Karlberg from 1964 to 1969 and served as Defence District Commander of

and as Commandant of Stockholm from 1969 to 1973. After retiring from the military, Carlborg was national corps commander of the

National Association of Volunteer Motor Transport Corps The National Association of Volunteer Motor Transport Corps ( sv, Frivilliga automobilkårernas riksförbund, FAK), commonly known as the Swedish Voluntary Motor Transport(ation) Corps ( sv, Frivilliga Automobilkåren) is a Swedish nationwide volunt ...

from 1973 to 1975 and as chairman of Stockholm Shooting Federation (''Stockholms skytteförbund'') until 1976.

Personal life

Carlborg married in 1941 to Ann-Mari Eklind (born 1920), the daughter of the engineer Ragnar Eklind and Ruth Berglund. They had three children: Hans (born 1943), Jan (born 1945) and Björn (born 1947). After his retirement, Carlborg moved to

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, Spain.

Death

Carlborg died on 21 September 2005 in Oscar Parish in Stockholm.

Dates of rank

*1934 – Second lieutenant *1936 – ''

Underlöjtnant ''Underlöjtnant'' (from the German word ''Unterleutnant'') was the lowest officer rank in the Swedish Army from 1835 to 1937 instead of the previous ranks of ''fänrik'' and cornet. was reintroduced in 1914 with the same position as , from 192 ...

'' *1938 –

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 ...

*1942 – Captain *1952 – Major *1957 – Lieutenant colonel *1960 –

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 o ...

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 ...

(1968) *

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(1964) *

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Knight_1st_Class_BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

(1953) *

Knight 1st Class 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 ...

(1952) *

For_Zealous_and_Devoted_Service_of_the_Realm_ribbon

Silver Medal for Noble Deeds * Army Shooting Medal (SkytteM)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlborg, Nils-Ivar 1913 births 2005 deaths People from Jönköping Swedish Army colonels Swedish military attachés Skydivers Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Knights First Class of the Order of Vasa