Ingvar Fredrik Håkansson (4 September 1920 – 9 July 1944) was a Swedish volunteer

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Since Sweden was

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in the war, Håkansson was one of few Swedes that served in RAF.

Onset of the war

Håkansson's mother was

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and his father a captain from Sweden. At the age of five, Håkansson moved with his family from the United Kingdom to Sweden and settled in the city of

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

. In the summer of 1939 he became an apprentice engineer on one of the vessels of the Swedish shipping company Transatlantic. In 1940, he found himself on a ship in South-America unable to go home to Sweden because war had started in Norway. At this time also, word reached him that Swedish vessels, including those of his father's shipping company were being bombed by the Germans despite Sweden's neutrality in the war. He decided to go to the UK, and disembarked his ship in the

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. He then boarded a Norwegian ship and crossed

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to the UK. The journey was a risky one and several of the vessels in his

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

were torpedoed. However, Håkansson arrived safely in the UK and by this time he had made up his mind that he wanted to become a fighter pilot in RAF.

Application to RAF

Upon his arrival in England, Håkansson applied at an RAF recruitment office in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. However, the application process would prove a long-drawn and arduous one. One of the factors obstructing enlistment was that he was not a British

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and in addition came from a neutral country. Håkansson continued to send applications and commented in a radio interview: "I wrote numerous letters to London and all the paper that I used would be enough to fill the largest paper bin". Finally by the summer of 1941 he was accepted, and after several medical and knowledge tests he was ready to commence training.

Operations in RAF

Håkansson received flight training in the UK and

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, and by the summer of 1943 he was fully trained. He was first placed in 165 Squadron, where he flew a

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

IX. During a landing at RAF base Culmhead on 20 January 1944, his plane collided with that of fellow RAF pilot Eric Hamilton Francis, who died in the event. Håkansson sustained minor injuries and his Spitfire sustained category B damage. After his recovery, Håkansson was transferred to 610 Squadron where his unit escorted American bomber planes over

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Operation Diver and death

After the allied

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

, Germany launched an attack against London with the new V-1 “robot” flying bombs. During this time so-called “Diver” operations were performed by RAF where the bombs were to be destroyed before they reached the UK. Håkansson too was put on such a Diver patrol. On Sunday 9 July 1944, Håkansson took off at dawn in his Spitfire XIV. A second pilot was to have joined Håkansson, but his plane was unserviceable and hence Håkansson set out alone. He succeeded in destroying two V-1s, but during his attack on a third the bomb exploded and he said over the radio that he would make an emergency exit by parachute. His last words were: "A robot is exploding – I am baling out!". He was then to have ejected from the aircraft over the sea a few miles off

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. Despite searches by rescue planes and boats, no trace was ever found of Håkansson or his plane. Håkansson is remembered at

Runnymede Memorial The Air Forces Memorial, or Runnymede Memorial, in Englefield Green, near Egham, Surrey, England is a memorial dedicated to some 20,456 men and women from air forces of the British Empire who were lost in air and other operations during World War ...

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as well as in St George's Royal Air Force Chapel of Remembrance at the former RAF station Biggin Hill.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hakansson, Fredrik 1920 births 1940s missing person cases 1944 deaths Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Missing in action of World War II Missing person cases in England People lost at sea Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Military personnel from Birmingham, West Midlands British emigrants to Sweden Swedish people of English descent Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force pilots of World War II

Onset of the war

Application to RAF

Operations in RAF

Operation Diver and death

See also

References