Chief of the Air Staff (Sweden)
The Chief of the Air Staff is the professional head of the Swedish Air Staff. The post was created in 1936 with lieutenant colonel Bengt Nordenskiöld as the first incumbent. The post disappeared in 1994 and was reintroduced in 2019 when the new Air Staff was established.
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Image: Generallöjtnant Axel Ljungdahl
Image: Gustaf Adolf Westring
Image: Porträtt av överste Lennart Peyron
General Bengt Gustafsson (G:son) Nordenskiöld was a Swedish Air Force officer who served as Chief of the Air Force from 1942 to 1954. In 1910 Nordenskiöld started his military career as a volunteer in the Svea Life Guards, later attending the Royal Swedish Army Staff College. In 1928, he was made a captain in the General Staff. During 1931 he went through aircraft recognition training at the Swedish Air Force Flying School, after which he was trained as a pilot. In 1936, Nordenskiöld started to serve in the recently created Air Staff under general Torsten Friis, later becoming a lieutenant general. He was appointed Chief of the Swedish Air Force in 1942 as the first Chief of Air Force with pilot training. Nordenskiöld was promoted general and retired from active service in 1954.
Bengt Nordenskiöld
Gravesite of General Bengt Nordenskiöld at the Southern Cemetery (Södra kyrkogården) in Kalmar.
Nordenskiöld in 1941, just before an exercise that he led from his airplane.