Mette Grøtteland (born 1969) became the first female fighter pilot in the

Royal Norwegian Air Force The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) () is the air force of Norway. It was established as a separate arm of the Norwegian Armed Forces on 10 November 1944. The RNoAF's peacetime establishment is approximately 2,430 employees (officers, enlisted ...

after qualifying to fly jet fighter aircraft in 1992.

Early life

Grøtteland was born in 1969 in

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sand ...

, Norway.

Military service

In 1991, then a second lieutenant, Grøtteland was sent to the United States to undergo fighter training. Returning to Norway on 3 March 1992, she became the first Norwegian female fighter pilot.Arheim 1994, p. 69 She was nicknamed "Jet-Mette". In Norway, Grøtteland joined No. 332 Squadron RNoAF at

Rygge Air Station Rygge Air Force Base () is located in the municipalities of Moss and Råde in Østfold county, Norway. The Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) operates various squadrons and aircraft at the airbase, including AgustaWestland AW101 ''SAR Queen'' an ...

and first flew

Northrop F-5 The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and th ...

fighter aircraft, before converting to flying

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

fighters in the autumn of 1992. She transferred to No. 331 Squadron RNoAF at Bodø Air Station at the beginning of 1993. By 2000 Grøtteland held the rank of captain, and was again based at Rygge Air Station.Statens forvaltningstjeneste, Informasjonsforvaltning 2001, p. 9 In 2006 she converted to flying helicopters and began her service as a

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome eng ...

helicopter pilot in 2007, transferring to

No. 330 Squadron RNoAF No. 330 Squadron RNoAF () is a military helicopter, helicopter unit of the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) and is Norway's military search and rescue service. The squadron operates sixteen AgustaWestland AW101, AugustaWestland AW101 helicopter ...

Sola Air Station Sola Air Station () is a base for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. It is located in Sola municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. Rescue Helicopter Service is stationed at Sola along with Helicopter Squadron 330. Also located at Sola is Stavang ...

. At the time she was one of three female rescue helicopter pilots in Norway.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grotteland, Mette 1969 births Living people People from Sandnes Royal Norwegian Air Force personnel No. 330 Squadron RNoAF personnel Norwegian expatriates in the United States Norwegian female military personnel Women helicopter pilots Norwegian women aviators