Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge ...

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

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gusta ...

officer. He served in the Air Defense Artillery Branch and finished his military career as Inspector of the Air Defence from 1953 to 1957.

Early life

Bengtsson was born on 30 September 1897 at Rössjöholm Castle in Tåssjö,

Kristianstad County Kristianstad County ( sv, Kristianstads län) 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 Kristianstad (, ; o ...

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

Wendes Artillery Regiment The Wendes Artillery Regiment ( sv, Wendes artilleriregemente), 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 g ...

Kristianstad Kristianstad (, ; older spelling from Danish ''Christianstad'') is a city and the seat of Kristianstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden with 40,145 inhabitants in 2016. During the last 15 years, it has gone from a garrison town to a developed ...

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

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

in the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

. 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.

Career

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 ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. He then served in

Småland Artillery Regiment The Småland Artillery Regiment ( sv, Smålands artilleriregemente), designation A 6, was a Swedish Army artillery regiment raised in 1895. It was disbanded in 1985. The regiment was based in Jönköping. Locations and training areas Barracks O ...

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a 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 of Jönköping Munici ...

in 1936 where he became a major in 1939. Bengtsson transferred to the Air Defense Artillery Branch (''Luftvärnstrupperna'') in 1939 and served in the

General Staff Corps General Staff Corps ( sv, Generalstabskåren, Gst) was an administrative corps within the Swedish Armed Forces between 1937 and 1990 and consisted of Swedish Army officers chosen for duty in the Defence Staff and Army Staff. It replaced the earlie ...

in 1940. He participated in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

in 1940. Bengtsson was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1941 and was head of the Defence Staff's Air Defense 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 Aerial-Protection Association (''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 Karlsborg Anti-Aircraft Regiment ( sv, Karlsborgs luftvärnsregemente), also Lv 1, was a Swedish Army anti-aircraft unit that was active in various forms between 1937–1961. The unit was based in Karlsborg. History Karlsborg Anti-Aircraft Regi ...

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. History The town of K ...

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 (''Luftförsvarsutredningen'') from 1953 to 1954. He was employed at the

Swedish National Defence Research Institute Swedish National Defence Research Institute ( sv, Försvarets forskningsanstalt, 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 ...

in 1958.

Personal life

In 1932, Bengtsson married Karin (Kai) Fresk (born 1904) the daughter of senior engineer Albert Fresk and Gurli (née Söderström).

Dates of rank

*1918 –

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

*1930 –

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

*1932 –

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 ...

*1939 – Major *1941 – Lieutenant colonel *1944 –

Honours

*Member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Krigsvetenskapsakademien) 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 ...

(1944)

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bengtsson, Bengt 1897 births 1977 deaths Swedish Army colonels Swedish male artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic gymnasts of 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