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 ...

Bengt Folke Bengtsson (30 September 1897 – 10 October 1977) was a

Swedish Army The Swedish Army () is the army, land force of the Swedish Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. Beginning with its service in 1521, the Swedish Army has been active for more than 500 years. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1 ...

officer and gymnast. As a gymnast, he won an Olympic gold medal at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

. As a military member, he served in the Air Defense Artillery Branch and finished his career as Inspector of the Air Defence from 1953 to 1957.

Early life

Bengtsson was born on 30 September 1897 at

Rössjöholm Castle Rössjöholm Castle () is a castle in Ängelholm Municipality, Scania, in southern Sweden. Rössjöholm Castle is located by Lake Rössjön ten miles northeast of Ängelholm. The current main building is a simple one-storey house with two wings, ...

in Tåssjö,

Kristianstad County Kristianstad County () was a county of Sweden from 1719 to 31 December 1996 when it was merged with Malmöhus County to form Skåne County. The seat of residence for the Governor was in Kristianstad. See also * List of governors of Kristiansta ...

, the son of Sven Bengtsson, an estate agent, and his wife Ella (née Ljunggren). Bengt Bengtsson was the youngest brother of Swedish author Frans G. Bengtsson. Bengtsson 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

Kristianstad Kristianstad ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 41,198 inhabitants in 2023. Since the 1990s, the city has gone from being a garrison town to a developed commercial city, ...

in 1916.

Career

Bengtsson was commissioned as an officer in 1918 and was assigned as a second lieutenant to

Wendes Artillery Regiment The Wendes Artillery Regiment (), designation A 3, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment that traced its origins back to the 17th century. The regiment's soldiers were originally recruited from Scania, where it was garrisoned. The unit was disban ...

. He attended the Royal Central Gymnastics Institute from 1921 to 1922. He competed as a

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

in the

. He was part of the Swedish team, which was able to win the gold medal in the gymnastics men's team, Swedish system event in 1920. Bengtsson attended the Swedish Army Artillery and Engineering College's higher course from 1922 to 1924. He did rehearsal training from 1924 to 1926 and became a lieutenant in the Artillery Staff in 1930. In 1931, he underwent aerial reconnaissance training and was promoted to captain in 1932. The same year Bengtsson was posted to

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. He then served in Småland Artillery Regiment in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...

in 1936 where he became a major in 1939. Bengtsson transferred to the Air Defence Artillery Branch (''Luftvärnstrupperna'') in 1939 and served in the General Staff Corps in 1940. He participated in the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

in 1940. Bengtsson was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1941 and was head of the Defence Staff's Air Defence Department from 1940 to 1943. He served as an expert in the Air Protection Inspectorate (''Luftskyddsinspektionen'') and the Evacuation Commission (''Utrymningskommissionen'') from 1940 to 1943, as an agent in the National Air Protection Federation (''Riksluftskyddsförbundet'') from 1940 to 1943 and was a member of the Homeland Defence Experts of 1941 (''1941 års hemortsförsvarssakkunniga''). Bengtsson was promoted to colonel in 1944 and was appointed commander of Gothenburg Anti-Aircraft Corps in 1943. He became commander of Karlsborg Anti-Aircraft Regiment in

Karlsborg Karlsborg (, outdatedly ) is a locality and the seat of Karlsborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 3,551 inhabitants in 2010. This garrison town lies at the shore of lake Vättern in Västergötland Västergötland (), ...

in 1946 and was the local commander in Karlsborg from 1946 to 1953. Bengtsson then served as Inspector of the Inspector of the Air Defence from 1953 from 1957, during which time he was a member of the Air Defence Investigation (''Luftförsvarsutredningen'') from 1953 to 1954. He was employed at the

Swedish National Defence Research Institute Swedish National Defence Research Institute (, FOA) was a Swedish government agency in defense research existing from 1945 to 31 December 2000. It was amalgamated with the National Aeronautical Research Institute (FFA) into the Swedish Defence ...

in 1958. He was chairman of the ''Lv l:s kamratförening'' from 1953 and a board member of the AB CEA-verken from 1943.

Personal life

In 1932, Bengtsson married Karin (Kai) Fresk (born 1904) the daughter of senior engineer Albert Fresk and Gurli (née Söderström). They had one child: Göran (born 1933).

Dates of rank

*1918 – Second Lieutenant *1930 –

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 ...

*1932 –

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 ...

*1939 –

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 ...

*1941 – Lieutenant colonel *1944 –

Awards and decorations

SWE 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 ...

Knight of the

Order of Vasa The Royal Order of Vasa () is a Swedish order of chivalry founded on 29 May 1772 by Gustav III, King Gustav III. It is awarded to Swedish citizens for service to state and society especially in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce. His ...

* Swedish Civil Protection Association Merit Badge in gold * Swedish Women's Voluntary Defence Organization Royal Medal of Merit in silver * Ski gold medal (SkidlmG) * Pistol shooting gold medal (PistolskytteGM) * ''Skaraborg befäls(utbildnings)-förbunds guldmedalj'' * ''Örebro befäls(utbildnings)-förbunds silvermedalj''

Foreign

* Commander with Star of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

1st Class of the

Order of the German Eagle The Order of Merit of the German Eagle () was an award of the German Nazi regime, predominantly to foreign diplomats. The Order was instituted on 1 May 1937 by Adolf Hitler. It ceased to be awarded following the collapse of Nazi Germany at the e ...

Order of the Cross of Liberty The Order of the Cross of Liberty (; ) is one of three official state Order (decoration), orders in Finland, along with the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The awards of the Order of the Cross of Liberty ...

, 3rd Class with sword * 1st Class of the Finland's Population Protection Medal of Merit (''Finlands Befolkningsskydds förtjänstmedalj'', FBskftjM1kl) * Finnish War Commemorative Medal *Olympic Gold Medal (1920)

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 ...

(1944)

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bengtsson, Bengt 1897 births 1977 deaths Swedish Army colonels Swedish male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts for Sweden Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics People from Ängelholm Municipality Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Sportspeople from Skåne County Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Vasa