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

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 Italian explorer

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 Aviation between the World Wars, years between the two Worl ...

after Nobile's airship crashed on the ice north of

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

. He was later promoted to

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 ...

in the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( or just ) is the air force Military branch, branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the escalatin ...

. Before joining the air force, Lundborg participated in the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

in 1918 and in the

Estonian War of Independence The Estonian War of Independence, also known as the War of Freedom in Estonia, was a defensive campaign of the Estonian Army and its allies, most notably the United Kingdom, against the Soviet Russian westward offensive of 1918–1919 and the ...

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 () is located at Malmen Airbase in Malm ...

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 167,000 inhabitants as of 2024. 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 (; ) 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. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The ...

, 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 () 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 of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...

, 4th class with Swords * Order of St. Anna, 3rd class with Swords ;German Army *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, 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

References

1896 births 1931 deaths Military personnel from Kolkata 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 Swedish Air Force officers Swedish volunteers in the Finnish Civil War (White side) {{Aviation-bio-stub Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1931 Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Sweden