Einar Paul Albert Muni Lundborg (5 April 1896 – 27 January 1931) was a Swedish

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

Biography

He was born on 5 April 1896. In 1928 he rescued

Umberto Nobile Umberto Nobile (; 21 January 1885 – 30 July 1978) was an Italian aviator, aeronautical engineer and Arctic explorer. Nobile was a developer and promoter of semi-rigid airships in the years between the two World Wars. He is primarily remembe ...

after Nobile's airship crashed on the ice north of

Spitsbergen Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern N ...

. He was later promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Swedish Air Force. Before joining the airforce, Lundborg participated in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper '' Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil ...

in 1918 and in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence ( et, Vabadussõda, literally "Freedom War"), also known as the Estonian Liberation War, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Bolshevik wes ...

in 1919–1920. Lundborg was killed during a test flight of the Jaktfalken airplane at

Malmslätt Malmslätt () is a locality situated in Linköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 5,214 inhabitants in 2010. Malmen Airbase and the Swedish Air Force Museum The Swedish Air Force Museum ( sv, Flygvapenmuseum) is located at Ma ...

in 1931. He was survived by his wife Margareta, née Malmberg (1900–1981). He is buried in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Chu ...

, Sweden.

Honours and awards

;Estonian War of Independence * Cross of Liberty 3rd class II phase (August 17, 1920) * Estonia's war memorial ;Finnish War * Cross of Liberty Class III with Swords and Class IV with Swords (Finland) *

Order of the White Rose of Finland The Order of the White Rose of Finland ( fi, Suomen Valkoisen Ruusun ritarikunta; sv, Finlands Vita Ros’ orden) is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. ...

, Commander 2nd class * Finnish gallantry medal, Phase II * Swedish Brigadier gallantry medal * Medal of Tampere ;Russian Army in the Northwest *

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer ...

, 4th class with Swords *

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hols ...

, 3rd class with Swords ;German Army *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

, I and II Classes

Bibliography

* När Nobile Räddades: Mina Upplevelser Under Den Svenska Spetsbergs Expeditionen 1928 (published in 1928 in Swedish) - Title in English: 'When Nobile Was Rescued: My Experiences During The Swedish Spetsbergs Expedition 1928'. The publication includes a fold-out map of

. 1896 births 1931 deaths Military personnel from Kolkata People of the Finnish Civil War (White side) Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 3rd Class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Sweden Swedish Air Force officers Swedish expatriates in Finland {{Aviation-bio-stub