Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Bengt Göran Rasin, né ''Larsson'' (17 April 1922 – 2 January 2013) was a

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

officer. His senior commands include Commander-in-Chief of the

Coastal Fleet The Coastal Fleet (, Kfl) was until 1994 a Swedish Navy authority with the main task of training the naval ships commanders and crews. After the formation of the authority Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the Coastal Fleet remained as a unit until ...

, commanding officer of the West Coast Military Command and commanding officer of the

Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...

. Rasin also served as chairman of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences.

Early life

Rasin was born Bengt Göran Larsson on 17 April 1922 in

Annedal Annedal is a Districts of Sweden, district of Gothenburg, Sweden, which falls with the Boroughs and districts of Gothenburg, borough of Linnéstaden. It is older traditional working class district. Much of the original housing was demolished in ...

Parish,

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 ...

, Sweden, the son of chief physician Hjalmar Larsson and his wife Elsa (née Rasin). Both parents were employed at Gothenburg schools and were anxious that their son would receive a good education as a basis for the future. He passed '' studentexamen'' at the Vasa högre allmänna läroverk in 1941 and after mandatory military service became an officer candidate in the

on the 20 June the same year with number 6. At this time - with the threat of war and a navy in strong development - a couple of hundred young people applied for the Royal Swedish Naval Academy which only accepted 75 people. Rasin was accepted as number 2. Rasin graduated as an acting sub-lieutenant and was commissioned into the navy as number 4 of the 39 remaining sea cadets in the fall of 1944..

Career

During his time at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy, Rasin was trained in seamanship aboard the armored cruiser . In October 1944 he embarked on the submarine HSwMS ''Svärdfisken'' - a service that at that time entailed considerable risks. Rasin then attended submarine school. The best acting sub-lieutenants in each course also got to make long journeys, whereby Rasin temporarily had to stop his submarine service for a trip with the cruiser to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. Rasin's talent was also used in a training course in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1948, to bring home the new radar technology. Rasin served as captain of the submarines HSwMS ''U2'' (1946), HSwMS ''Sjöborren'' (1953–54 and 1957) and HSwMS ''Svärdfisken'' (1954). He was trained in submarine and staff service and attended the staff course at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1951 to 1953. Rasin attended the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1961 and he served as captain of the submarine HSwMS ''U3'' in 1962. Rasin underwent the general course at the Swedish National Defence College in 1966. He served as chief of Section 1 from 1966 and chief of staff of the

(Milo V) and was commanding officer of the 1st Submarine Flotilla from 1971 to 1972. In 1973, Rasin took a management course and in 1977 he was promoted to rear admiral and was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the

. On 1 October 1980, Rasin assumed the position of commander of the West Coast Naval Base in Gothenburg which in 1981 became the West Coast Military Command and Älvsborg Coastal Artillery Regiment. He then served as the Commanding Admiral of the Western Military District from 1983 to 1985.

Other work

Rasin was elected in 1961, with number 851, into the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences. He was its chairman from 1979 to 1984. In 1978, Rasin became a 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 ...

, Section II, Naval Studies. He was also Inspektor of the naval academies associations UppSjö and SjöBorg from 1978 to 1982. Rasin's great interest in sailing made, among other things, that he was chairman of the organizing committee for the Tall Ships' Races in 1986, when Gothenburg for the first time constituted final destination.

Personal life

On 16 November 1947, Rasin married Gunnel Björklund (1922–2011), the daughter of Ernst Björklund and Edith (née Uhlén). They had two sons; Bengt and Lars.

Death

Rasin died on 2 January 2013 in Vasa Parish, Gothenburg. The funeral service was held on 8 February 2013 in in Gothenburg. He is buried at Nya Varvet Cemetery in Gothenburg.

Dates of rank

*1944 – Acting sub-lieutenant *1946 – Sub-lieutenant *1954 –

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 ...

*1962 – Lieutenant commander *1963 –

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

*1970 –

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 ...

*1973 – Senior captain *1977 –

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Awards and decorations

Knight of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(1963)

Honours

*Member of the

(1978) *Honorary member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (chairman 1978–1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasin, Bengt 1922 births 2013 deaths Swedish Navy rear admirals Military personnel from Gothenburg Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Knights of the Order of the Sword