Major General Evert Karl Erik Båge (25 August 1925 – 21 January 2021) was a

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 ...

officer. Båge served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1980 to 1984 and as head of the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1984 to 1990.

Early life

Båge was born on 25 August 1925 in

Alingsås Alingsås () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Alingsås Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 24,482 inhabitants in 2010. Geography Geographically the city is situated by the outlet of the small rivulet Säv ...

Parish,

Älvsborg County Älvsborg County () was a county of Sweden until 1997, when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg & Bohus and Skaraborg to form Västra Götaland County. The county corresponded to the traditional province of Dalsland and the central ...

, Sweden, the son of Erik Båge, a repairer, and his wife Selma. Båge passed ''

studentexamen Studentexamen (Swedish for "students' examination" or "students' degree"), earlier also ''mogenhetsexamen'' ("maturity examination") was the name of the university entrance examination in Sweden from the 17th century to 1968. From 1862 to 1968, ...

'' in 1945.

Career

Båge graduated from the

Swedish Air Force Flying School Swedish Air Force Flying School (), also F 5 Ljungbyhed, or simply F 5, is a former Swedish Air Force training wing with the main base located in Ljungbyhed in southern Sweden. History The moor at Ljungby was adopted for military use in 1658 by t ...

in 1948 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Svea Wing. Båge served there from 1948 to 1958 and he was promoted to lieutenant in 1950. In September 1950, he made news after flying the

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 ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

route in a

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

, in a time of 29 minutes, 22 seconds, including takeoff and landing. In 1958, Båge was promoted to captain, whereupon he served in the Third Air Group (''Tredje flygeskadern'', E 3) and Air Staff from 1958 to 1963. He was promoted to major in 1962. He was head of Operation Command I in the Defence Staff from 1963 to 1966, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1965 and was head of Section 1 of the staff of the

Eastern Military District The Order of the Red Banner Eastern Military District ( Russian: Восточный военный округ) is a military district of Russia. It is one of the five military districts of the Russian Armed Forces, with its jurisdiction wi ...

from 1966 to 1968. In 1969, he was promoted to colonel, after which he was commander of

Jämtland Wing Jämtland Wing (), also F 4 Frösön, or simply F 4, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located at Åre Östersund Airport outside Östersund on Frösön in the middle of Sweden. History The airbase was set up in 1926 as the 4t ...

from 1969 to 1973. In September 1970, he had his appointment extended until further notice as acting commander of Jämtland Wing. He was promoted to

senior colonel __NOTOC__ Senior colonel is an officer rank usually placed between a regular colonel and a British brigadier or American brigadier general. Use Most western militaries tend to equate a senior colonel as being on the level of a "brigadier general ...

on 1 October 1974 after which he served as head of Operations Command 2 in the Defence Staff from 1973 to 1978. On 1 October 1978, Båge was promoted to major general and assumed the position of chief of staff of the Upper Norrland Military District. He then served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1980 to 1984 and head of the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1984 to 1990. When Båge (Class of 1945) retired in the autumn of 1990, with 45 years and 4 months he was the person who served the longest in the Sweden Air Force.

Personal life

In 1948, Båge married Gunnel Brandt (born 1925). Their daughter was born on 30 July 1952 at

Karolinska Hospital The Karolinska University Hospital () is a teaching hospital affiliated with Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, with two major sites in the municipalities of Solna and Huddinge. The hospital network is the second largest in Sweden, after ...

in Stockholm. Their second daughter was born on 26 January 1958 in Ward 6 at Karolinska Hospital.

Death

Båge died on 21 January 2021 in Arild, Sweden. The funeral service was held in Brunnby Church.

Dates of rank

*1948 – Second lieutenant *1950 –

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 ...

*1958 –

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 ...

*1962 –

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

*1965 – Lieutenant colonel *1969 –

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

*1 October 1974 –

Senior colonel __NOTOC__ Senior colonel is an officer rank usually placed between a regular colonel and a British brigadier or American brigadier general. Use Most western militaries tend to equate a senior colonel as being on the level of a "brigadier general ...

*1 October 1978 – Major general

Awards and decorations

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class 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 ...

(3 December 1974) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_BAR

Commander of the

(11 November 1972) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Knight_1st_Class_BAR

Knight 1st Class of the

(1965) *

ISL_Icelandic_Order_of_the_Falcon_-_Grand_Knight_with_Star_BAR

Grand Knight's Cross with Star of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

(26 October 1981)

Honours

*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 ...

(1981)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Båge, Evert 1925 births 2021 deaths Swedish Air Force major generals People from Alingsås Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword