Svea Air Corps ( sv, Svea flygkår), also F 8 Barkarby, or simply F 8, is a former

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 ...

air corps wing with the main base located in

Barkarby Barkarby is a district of Järfälla Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden and part of the contiguously built-up Stockholm urban area. Barkarby has a station of the Stockholm commuter rail network. 1912 Summer Olympics During the 1912 Summer ...

just north of the capital

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 the east coast.

History

The meadows in the area were used since 1913 for basic flying training. From 1919 until 1936 the airport was a permanent international airport until the commercial traffic was transferred to the newly built Stockholm-Bromma Airport with paved runways. From 1926 until 1938 the airfield was also used for evaluation of new aircraft for the

. Units from other wings were also stationed here for air defense of the capital

. In 1936, the decision was made to set up a permanent fighter air wing. Three squadrons of J 8 were initially detached to the

Västmanland Wing Västmanland Wing ( sv, Västmanlands flygflottilj), also F 1 Hässlö, or simply F 1, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located at Hässlö Airport in Västerås in central Sweden. History The 1st Flying Corps was set up nea ...

(F 1) but moved to Barkarby on October 1, 1938. The aircraft were rather quickly replaced in 1940 by J 9. In 1945 after the end of the war, the squadrons were reequipped with J 22. Some of the aircraft were received from F 16 and F 9. A few J 21A-1 were also stationed here initially for trials and training. In 1949 the squadrons were gradually converted to jets with the introduction of J 28B Vampire. They were in turn replaced in 1952 with J 29 Tunnan. In 1957 the squadrons received the J 34 Hunter. They were kept until 1964 when the three squadrons were disbanded and the aircraft were transferred to other wings. The name was changed to ''Kungliga Svea Flygkår'' (Royal Svealand Air Corps). In 1961 a decision was made to base the new high-altitude Rb 68 Bloodhound surface-to-air missile at F 8 and replace the fighters. F 8 Barkarby became the technical centre in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

for training officers and conscripts for using the new missiles. F 8 remained an active military base until the decommissioning in 1974 when it was opened for general aviation. The airfield is known today as

Barkarby Airport Barkarby Airport was a disbanded Swedish Air Force base, near Akalla north of Stockholm used for general aviation. Barkarby Airport was one of Sweden’s oldest active airports until it was closed in 2010. A large shopping complex is still situ ...

and was used until 2010 for general aviation for hobby flyers and enthusiasts with small planes. The area around F8 has been heavily developed in the beginning of the 21st century, with a big Outlet shoppingcenter, Ikea store and numerous other stores. In 2010 the airfield was closed down permanently. The municipality is now building office and living areas on the former airfield and surroundings.

Barracks and training areas

The Hägerstalund Airfield at

, 20 km northwest of

, was built in 1918 by the Aviation Company (''Flygkompaniet'') and was used from 1926 by the ''Stabens flygavdelning''. New construction for the wing took place from 1937 to 1944. The wing had an

underground hangar An underground hangar is a type of hangar for military aircraft, usually dug into the side of a mountain for protection. It is bigger and more protected than a hardened aircraft shelter (HAS). An underground hangar complex may include tunnels con ...

and the runway, which was in an east-west direction, was 2,000 m long. File:Barkarby - KMB - 16001000290824.jpg, Aerial view in 1979 File:F 8 Barkarby 5.jpg, Chancellery building File:F 8 Barkarby maj 2018 (02).jpg, Control tower File:F 8 Barkarby maj 2018 (01).jpg, Guardhouse File:F 8 Barkarby maj 2018 (03).jpg, Hangar File:Barkarby flygbas augusti 2017 18.jpg, Hangar File:Barkarby flygbas augusti 2017 02.jpg, Runway File:Barkarby flygfält 2013 hangar.jpg, Underground hangar

Heraldry and traditions

Coat of arms

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

: "Azure, powdered with open crowns and charged with the cost of arms of Stockholm, the crowned head of

Saint Eric Eric IX, ( Swedish: ''Erik Jedvardsson; Erik den helige; Sankt Erik''; d. 18 May 1160) also called Eric the Holy, Saint Eric, and Eric the Lawgiver, was a Swedish king in the 12th century, 1156–1160. The ''Roman Martyrology'' of the Catholic ...

couped, all or".

Colours, standards and guidons

A colour was presented to the wing on 6 June 1939 at

by His Majesty the King

Gustaf V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem ...

. The colour was deposited on 1 July 1974 at Air Defence Sector O5 ( F 1) for around 1990 being submitted to the

Swedish Army Museum The Swedish Army Museum ( sv, Armémuseum) is a museum of military history located in the district of Östermalm in Stockholm. It reopened in 2002 after a long period of closure, and was awarded the title of the best museum of Stockholm in 2005. ...

. Since 1999, it has been preserved at F 8's old officers' mess.

: "On blue cloth in the centre the badge of the Air Force; a winged two-bladed propeller under a royal crown proper. In the first corner the crowned head of

couped, all or".

Commanding officers

Commanding officers from 1938 to 1974. The commanding officers was referred to as ''flottiljchef'' ("wing commander") and had the rank of

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 ...

. From 1963 to 1974, the commander was referred to as ''kårchef'' ("corps commander") and had the rank of colonel. *1938–1941: Georg Gärdin *1941–1952: Lars Hägglöf *1952–1963: Sven Uggla *1963–1967:

Nils-Fredrik Palmstierna ''Friherre'' Major General Nils-Fredrik Palmstierna (8 March 1919 – 5 August 1990) was a Swedish Air Force officer. His senior commands include the post of Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, Chief of Staff of the Eastern Military District and ...

*1967–1974: Stig Bruse

Names, designations and locations

References

Notes

Print

Web

External links

Webpage listing all air force squadrons in Sweden

Barkarby Airport history
{{coord, 59.4125, N, 17.8750, E, source:wikidata, display=title Corps of the Swedish Air Force Military units and formations established in 1938 Military units and formations disestablished in 1974 1938 establishments in Sweden 1974 disestablishments in Sweden Stockholm Garrison