Vice Admiral Nils ''Oscar'' Jakob Krokstedt (12 October 1908 – 13 December 1985) 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. His senior commands included Chief of the Naval Staff, head of the

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 ...

and military commander of the Western Military District and 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 ...

Early life

Krokstedt was born on 12 October 1908 in

Grötlingbo Grötlingbo is a populated area, a socken (not to be confused with parish), on the Swedish island of Gotland. It comprises the same area as the administrative Grötlingbo District, established on 1January 2016. The Kattlund farm in Grötlingbo i ...

, Sweden, the son of Axel Krokstedt, a sea captain, and Sigrid (née Söderström). He had an older sister, Astrid Krokstedt (1906–1981), who was first

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

in the Swedish Nurses’ Association (''Svensk sjuksköterskeförening''), and two younger ones, Signe Olga Hermanna (1910–1932), and Karin Sigrid Elisabeth (born 1917). Krokstedt 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

Visby Visby () is an urban area in Sweden and the seat of Gotland Municipality in Gotland County on the island of Gotland with 24,330 inhabitants . Visby is also the episcopal see for the Diocese of Visby. The Hanseatic city of Visby is arguably th ...

in 1926 and came to the

as a sea cadet in 1927 and was later platoon leader in the Cabin Boy Corps (''Skeppsgossekåren'') in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Swed ...

. This gave him a large number of sailing summers on the corps' ships ''af Chapman'', and ''Jarramas''. He also served aboard on a sea expedition.

Career

Military career

He was commissioned as a naval officer in the

in 1930 with the rank of acting sub-lieutenant and 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 1926 ...

'' in 1932 and to sub-lieutenant in 1934. Krokstedt served at the Stockholm Naval Station (''Stockholms örlogsstation'') in 1936 and attended the staff course at 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 1938 to 1939 and was posted to the Naval Staff as a section chief in from 1946 to 1947. Krokstedt was a teacher at 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 1946 to 1949 and promoted to lieutenant commander in 1948 and to commander in 1953. Over the years, Krokstedt served great deal of time on warships, commanding patrol boats, minesweepers and destroyers. He also served several years as flag adjutant, as second-in-command of the during the winter long journey from 1950 to 1951 and as commander of during its first long journey from 1953 to 1954. Krokstedt attended the

from 1954 to 1955 and served as head of the Naval Department of the Defence Staff from 1954 to 1957. In 1957 he was promoted to

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 ...

and served as a naval attaché in

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 ...

and

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 of ...

from 1957 to 1960. Krokstedt was head of Section II of the Defence Staff from 1960 to 1961 and was promoted to rear admiral the same year. He was then posted as Acting Chief of the Naval Staff in 1961 and then as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1962 to 1964. Krokstedt served as head of the Swedish National Defence College from 1964 to 1966 and as military commander of the Western Military District from 1966 to 1968. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1968 and served as military commander of the

from 1968 to 1972. Krokstedt postings as military commander meant that he, as the first naval officer, got to command not only naval units but also considerable armies and air force units. Krokstedt retired from active service in 1972.

Later career

When Krokstedt retired, he fulfilled a dream by studying Swedish literary science at

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

at an academic level. When he was done with this with good results,

Evert Taube Axel Evert Taube (; 12 March 1890 – 31 January 1976) was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians and the foremost troubadour of the Swedish ballad tradition in the 20th c ...

had recently died. He now spent a lot of time rewriting "Evert Taube och sjömansvisan". At the commemoration in May 1984 of the ''af Chapman'', former quartermaster Krokstedt was the one who, under salute, boarded the now hostel and received the eleven jubilant crews. Krokstedt was Inspector Emeriti of the naval academy association SjöLund. He was also a member of the Swedish Society for Maritime History (''Sjöhistoriska samfundet'').

Personal life

In 1932, he married Ingrid Ljungberg (born 1909), the daughter of Wilhelm Ljungberg and Anna (née Häggström). They had one son, Lars Krokstedt (born 1934), CEO of AB Alfort & Cronholm (today Alcro) from 1973 to 1981, and CEO of Svenska Egmont AB from 1981, and the daughters Lisen Gylden and Briten Krokstedt.

Death

Krokstedt died on 13 December 1985 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 ...

. The funeral service took place on 30 December 1985 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.

Dates of rank

*1930 –

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 ...

*1932 – ''

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 1926 ...

'' *1934 –

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 ...

*1941 –

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 ...

*1948 –

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 ...

*1953 –

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. ...

*1957 –

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 ...

*1961 –

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 ...

*1968 – Vice admiral

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1968) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1964) * SWE_Order_of_Vasa_-_Knight_2nd_Class_BAR

Knight of the Order of Vasa

Foreign

St_Olavs_Orden_kommandør_med_stjerne_stripe

Commander with Star of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

(1 July 1967) * COL_Order_of_Naval_Merit_'Admiral_Padilla'_-_Commander

Commander of the Order of Naval Merit Admiral Padilla * Order_of_Naval_Merit_-_Officer_(Brazil)_-_ribbon_bar

Officer of the Order of Naval Merit * DEU_Deutsche_Adlerorden_1_BAR

Knight of the Order of the German Eagle

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1960) *Honorary 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 ...

(1961) *Honorary member of ''Flottans Mäns riksförening'' *Honorary member of ''Flottans Mäns Gotland''

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krokstedt, Oscar 1908 births 1985 deaths Swedish Navy vice admirals People from Gotland Swedish naval attachés 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