Sven-Olof Olson

Lieutenant General Sven-Olof Olson (26 November 1926 – 20 April 2021) was a senior Swedish Air Force officer. He served as Commanding General of the Southern Military District from 1980 to 1982 and as Chief of the Air Force from 1982 to 1988.

Sven-Olof Olson
Olson in 2015
Nickname(s)Stril-Olle[1][2]
Born(1926-11-26)26 November 1926
Oskarshamn, Sweden
Died20 April 2021(2021-04-20) (aged 94)
Sollentuna, Sweden
AllegianceSweden
Service/branchSwedish Air Force
Years of service1948–1988
RankLieutenant General
Commands held
AwardsKnight of the Order of the Sword

Early life

Olson was born on 26 November 1926 in Oskarshamn, Sweden, the son of Axel Olson, a furniture dealer, and his wife Ellen (née Ingvarsson). He passed studentexamen in Kalmar in 1945.[3]

Career

Military career

Olson graduated from the Royal Swedish Air Force College (Kungliga Flygkadettskolan) in 1948 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant at Västmanland Wing (F 1) the same year.[4] As a pilot he flew J 30 and J 33.[5] In 1951 he received the Stockholms-Tidningen's gold medal after having saved a J 30 Mosquito fighter aircraft from a serious situation.[5] Olson was promoted to lieutenant in 1950 and attended the General Course at the Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College from 1953 to 1954, where he attended the Technical Course from 1956 to 1957. He was promoted to captain in 1957 and to major in 1960.[6] Olson was head of the Department of Combat Management System ain he Air Staff's Planning Department from 1957 to 1962. He was responsible for operational planning and construction of STRIL 60 from 1958 to 1962 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1963. He was head of the Planning Department in the Defence Staff from 1963 to 1967 when he was promoted to colonel.[3]

Olson attended the Military Academy Karlberg and the Swedish National Defence College and was head of the Planning Department at the Defence Staff in 1963. Olson was a military expert in the 1965 Defense Investigation from 1965 to 1967 and commanding officer of the Flygvapnets krigsskola (F 20) from 1967 to 1971 and commanding officer of Uppland Wing (F 16) from 1971 to 1973, both in the city of Uppsala.[7] He became major general and Vice Chief of the Defence Staff in 1973 and was commanding officer of the Attack Group (E 1) from 1977 to 1980 when he was promoted to lieutenant general. In 1980-1982 Olson was the military commander of the Southern Military District (Kristianstad) in Sweden. He assumed the position of Chief of the Air Force on 1 October 1982[8] and left the command on 30 September 1988.[6]

Retirement

Olson served as president of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences from 1988 to 1991.[7] Olson became CEO of AB Afoma and chairman of the board of Nyge CSE Aviation AB (Saab Nyge Aero AB from 1999[9]) as well as a board member of Volvo lastvagnar AB, Celsius AB and Maynard AB.[7]

Personal life

In 1950 he married the dance teacher Yvonne Jahn (born 1931), the daughter of John Jahn and Birgitta (née Bergman-Olson).[7] He is the father of Tom (born 1951), Ylva (born 1955) and Åsa (born 1966).[3]

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Foreign

Honours
  • Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1968; president 1988–1991;[16] honorary member in 2011[4])
  • Honorary member of the Swedish Aviation Historical Society (Svensk flyghistorisk förening, SFF)[17]
  • Honorary member of the Östergötland Aviation Historical Society (Östergötlands Flyghistoriska Sällskap)[18]

Bibliography
  • Olson, Sven-Olof, ed. (1969). Flygvapnets krigsskola, [Uppsala]: [25:e officersexamen F 20, 18.6.69] (in Swedish). Uppsala: Flygvapnets krigsskola.

References
  1. "Appendix. Förberedelser för luftoperativ samverkan" (PDF). Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademiens Handlingar och Tidskrift (in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademien (1): 89. 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  2. Strand, Dieter (20 December 1998). "Här är min egen hemliga IB-lista" [Here is my own secret IB-list]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  3. Davidsson, Åke, ed. (1968). Vem är vem?. 5, Norrland : supplement, register [Who is Who?. 5, Norrland : supplements, directory] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 856.
  4. Andersson, Björn (2016). Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademien: Svenska krigsmanna sällskapet (till 1805), Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademien : 20 år med akademien och dess ledamöter 1996-2016 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Kungl. Krigsvetenskapsakademien. p. 83. ISBN 9789198087888. SELIBR 20033514.
  5. Levin, Louise (20 April 2021). "MINNESORD ÖVER GENERALLÖJTNANT SVEN-OLOF OLSON" (in Swedish). Swedish Armed Forces. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  6. Kjellander, Rune (2013). Svenska flygvapnets högre chefer 1925-2005: chefsbiografier och befattningsöversikter (in Swedish). Värmdö: Rune Kjellander. p. 88. ISBN 9789163711831. SELIBR 15870537.
  7. Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1992). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1993 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1993] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 855. ISBN 91-1-914072-X.
  8. "Ny chef för Flygvapnet" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (1): 24. 1982. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
  9. "Saab Nyge Aero AB" (in Swedish). Saab AB. 1 June 1999. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  10. Kungl. Hovstaterna: Kungl. Maj:ts Ordens arkiv, Matriklar (D 1), vol. 14 (1970–1979), p. 33, digital imageing.
  11. Kungl. Hovstaterna: Kungl. Maj:ts Ordens arkiv, Matriklar (D 1), vol. 14 (1970–1979), p. 45, digital avbildning.
  12. Bihang till Sveriges statskalender 1968. Kungl. Svenska riddareordnarna 1968 (in Swedish). Uppsala. 1968. p. 135.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. Andersson, Torsten (1987). "I medaljregnet" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (2): D. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
  14. "Förre CFV SMI-belönad" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (5): 31. 1989. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
  15. "Finland hedrar FV: CFV förlänad unik orden" (PDF). Flygvapennytt (in Swedish). Stockholm: Flygstaben (2): 27. 1987. ISSN 0015-4792. SELIBR 8257600.
  16. Kjellander, Rune (1996). Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademien: Svenska krigsmanna sällskapet (till 1805), Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademien : biografisk matrikel med porträttgalleri 1796-1995 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Akad. p. 173. ISBN 9163041812. SELIBR 7451162.
  17. Allard, Thomas (April 2021). "Vår högt värderade Hedersmedlem Sven-Olof Olson har tyvärr lämnat oss". www.flyghistoria.org (in Swedish). Swedish Aviation Historical Society. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  18. "Hedersmedlem 90 år". www.ofsflyg.se (in Swedish). Östergötlands Flyghistoriska Sällskap. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
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