Major General Bert Göran Stenfeldt (12 August 1933 – 10 December 2023) 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. Stenfeldt served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1987 to 1990 and as the Commander General of the 1st Air Command from 1990 to 1994.

Early life

Lönnbom was born on 12 August 1933 in Saint Paul Parish (''Sankt Pauli församling'') in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

Malmöhus County Malmöhus County () was a county of Sweden from 1719 to 1996. On 1 January 1997 it was merged with Kristianstad County to form Skåne County. It had been named after Malmöhus, a castle in Malmö, which was also where the governor originally li ...

, Sweden, the son of Harald Persson and his wife Agnes (née Stenfeldt). Stenfeldt became a

sergeant pilot A sergeant pilot was a non-commissioned officer who had undergone flight training and was a qualified pilot in the air forces of several Commonwealth countries before, during and after World War II. It was also a term used in the United States Arm ...

in 1951.

Career

Stenfeldt was commissioned as an officer in the

in 1958 with the rank of second lieutenant, stationed in

Blekinge Wing Blekinge Wing (), also F 17 Kallinge, or simply F 17, is a Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Ronneby in southern Sweden. The wing also operates the air base on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. It is one of four wings ...

. He initially flew the Saab T18, a torpedo-carrying version of the B18 propeller-driven twin-engine bomber. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1960 and from 1960 to 1966, Stenfeldt was posted at

Skaraborg Wing Skaraborg Wing (), also F 7 Såtenäs, or simply F 7, is a Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Lidköping in south-central Sweden. History The decision to set up the air wing was made in 1936, but disagreements in choosing a l ...

. He attended the General Course at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College in 1963, and commanded the 71st Fighter Division (''71. stridsflygdivisionen'') from 1964 to 1966. Stenfeldt was promoted to captain in 1966 and attended the Staff Course at the Swedish Armed Forces Staff College from 1966 to 1968. Stenfeldt served in the staff of the 1st Air Command from 1968 to 1970 and in 1971 he was promoted to major and to lieutenant colonel. Stenfeldt attended the

Air Command and Staff College The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Un ...

in United States from 1973 to 1974 and served as head of the Central Department in Section 1 of the Air Staff from 1976. Stenfeldt studied at the Swedish National Defence College in 1978 and in 1982. He was promoted to colonel in 1979 and appointed commander of the Helicopter Test Unit (''Helikopterförsöksförbandet'', HKP F). In 1982, Stenfeldt was promoted to senior colonel and appointed commander of the

Norrbotten Wing Norrbotten Wing (), also F 21 Luleå, or simply F 21, is a Swedish Air Force wing (air force unit), wing with the main base located in Luleå Airport in northern Sweden. It is one of the three remaining wings in Sweden and currently has two Squa ...

and

Upper Norrland Upper Norrland () is a national area () of Sweden. The national areas are a part of the NUTS statistical regions of Sweden. Geography Övre Norrland is the northernmost region of Sweden and forms part of Sápmi (Lapland). It is the Sweden's la ...

air defence sector (F 21/Se ÖN). From 1 April 1984, he served as head of the System Section FS2 (''Systemsektion FS2'') in the Air Staff. On 1 November 1987, Stenfeldt was promoted to major general and assumed the position of Chief of the Air Staff, a post he held for three years. His final assignment before retiring was as Commanding General of the 1st Air Command in

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 ...

from 1 October 1990 to 1994. Stenfeldt retired on 30 September 1994.

Personal life

In 1955, he married Maybritt Christensson. In 2007, Stenfeldt became chairman of the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight. On 4 April 2019, Stenfeldt became an honorary member of the '' F 18 Kamratförening'' (" F 18 Friendship Association").

Death

Stenfeldt 10 December 2023 in ,

Båstad Municipality Båstad Municipality () is a Municipalities of Sweden, municipality in Skåne County in South Sweden, located in Sweden. Its seat is located in the town of Båstad. The present municipality was established in 1971 when the market town (''köping' ...

, at the age of 90. The funeral took place on 17 January 2024 in in Förslöv, Båstad Municipality.

Dates of rank

*1958 – Second lieutenant *1960 –

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 ...

*1966 –

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 ...

*1971 –

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 ...

*1971 – Lieutenant colonel *1979 –

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 ...

*1982 –

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 November 1987 – Major general

Awards and decorations

Swedish_Air_Force_Volunteers_Association_Medal_of_Merit_ribbon

Swedish Air Force Volunteers Association Medal of Merit in silver (1989)

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 ...

(1979)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenfeldt, Bert 1933 births 2023 deaths Swedish Air Force major generals Military personnel from Malmö Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Air Command and Staff College alumni