Major General Bengt Arne Vilhelm Lönnbom (22 July 1933 – 8 August 2024) was a

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, 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 escalatin ...

officer. Lönnbom served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1984 to 1987 and as military commander of the

Lower Norrland Military District Lower Norrland Military District (, Milo NN), originally II Military District () was a Sweden, Swedish Military district (Sweden), military district, a command of the Swedish Armed Forces that had operational control over Lower Norrland, for most ...

from 1987 to 1993.

Early life

Lönnbom was born on 22 July 1933 in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

's City Parish (''Lunds stadsförsamling'') in

Malmöhus County Malmöhus County () was a county of Sweden from 1719 to 1996. On 1 January 1997 it was merged with Kristianstad County to form Skåne County. It had been named after Malmöhus, a castle in Malmö, which was also where the governor originally li ...

, Sweden.

Career

Military career

Lönnbom graduated from the

Swedish Air Force Flying School Swedish Air Force Flying School (), also F 5 Ljungbyhed, or simply F 5, is a former Swedish Air Force training wing with the main base located in Ljungbyhed in southern Sweden. History The moor at Ljungby was adopted for military use in 1658 by t ...

in 1956 and was commissioned as an officer the same year at

Scania Wing Scania Wing (), also F 10 Ängelholm, or simply F 10, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located in southernmost Sweden. History The tenth wing initially started as a detachment located at Svea Wing (F 8) during the summer of ...

with the rank of second lieutenant, where he served from 1956 to 1967, including as division commander. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1958 and to captain in 1964. Lönnbom served as head of the office in the Department of Studies in the Defence Staff from 1967 to 1968 and he was promoted to major in 1969. He then served in the Planning Department in the Air Staff from 1971 to 1972 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1972. Lönnbom served in the Planning and Budget Department at the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1972 to 1975 and was head of the office in the Planning Department in the Air Staff from 1975 to 1977. In 1977, Lönnbom was promoted to colonel, whereupon from 1977 to 1979 he was deputy commander of Bråvalla Wing in

Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...

. After promotion to senior colonel in 1979, he was head of the Aviation Section in the staff of the Upper Norrland Military District from 1979 to 1981. From 1981 to 1982, Lönnbom served as head of the Chief of the Air Force's project group for JAS and from 1982 to 1984 as head of the Systems Department in the Main Department for Aircraft Equipment in the

Defence Materiel Administration The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (, FMV) is a Swedish government agency that reports to the Ministry of Defence. The agency is responsible for the supply of materiel to the Swedish defence organisation. It is located in Stockholm. D ...

. Lönnbom was promoted to major general on 1 April 1984 and appointed Chief of the Air Staff from the same date. On 1 November 1987, Lönnbom assumed the position of military commander of

. He became the last holder of this post, serving until 1993.

Business career

Lönnbom was chairman of the board of Polydisplay AB and chairman of the Swedish part of AFCEA. In 1991 he became CEO of Carubel AB. He became chairman of the board in 2001.

Death

Lönnbom died on 8 August 2024.

Dates of rank

*1956 – Second Lieutenant *1958 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

*1964 –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

*1969 –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

*1972 – Lieutenant colonel *1977 –

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

*1979 –

Senior colonel __NOTOC__ Senior colonel is an officer rank usually placed between a regular colonel and a British brigadier or American brigadier general. Use Most western militaries tend to equate a senior colonel as being on the level of a "brigadier general ...

*1 April 1984 – Major general

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences () 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 military (army and air force) and de ...

(1980)

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lönnbom, Bengt 1933 births 2024 deaths Swedish Air Force major generals People from Lund Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences