Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Carl Einar Blidberg (20 September 1906 – 21 March 1993) was a

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy () is the maritime service branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet (), formally sometimes referred to as the Royal Navy () – as well as marine units, the Amph ...

officer. Blidberg served as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1957 to 1961, Commander-in-Chief of the

Coastal Fleet The Coastal Fleet (, Kfl) was until 1994 a Swedish Navy authority with the main task of training the naval ships commanders and crews. After the formation of the authority Swedish Armed Forces in 1994, the Coastal Fleet remained as a unit until ...

from 1962 to 1966, and as commanding officer of the Naval Command East and the East Coast Naval Base from 1966 to 1971.

Early life

Blidberg was born on 20 September 1906 in Kramfors, Sweden, the son of Tage Blidberg and his wife Ragnhild (née Ekelund). In 1923, Blidberg served as an extra cadet on the coastal defence ship when the Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for the engagement with Louise Mountbatten, our future queen. After passing '' studentexamen'' in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

in 1925, he was accepted as a sea cadet.

Career

After the then current course of study with practical courses at sea and two winters at the Royal Swedish Naval Academy at Skeppsholmen, Blidberg was commissioned as an officer in the

in 1928 with the rank of acting sub-lieutenant. Blidberg started as an artilleryman on the ''Sverige''-class coastal defence ship and on destroyers. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1930. The culmination of his artillery activities came in 1934, when he, as an artillery officer on destroyers at a maximum firing distance of two and a half minutes without test firing and with an eight-second salvo rate, had a hit rate of 25%. As an artilleryman, he won two Bofors trophies and a King's trophy (''Kungapokal''). From 1935 to 1936, Blidberg served as a Deputy Naval Attaché in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He served as commanding officer on destroyers in 1943, 1944 and in 1947. After completing the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College's general and higher course, he came to be used in many important positions and investigations. He was promoted to commander in 1944 and served as a teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1945 to 1948. Blidberg served as chief of staff of the East Coast Naval District in 1949, head of department in the Defence Staff from 1950 to 1952, and commanded the cruiser in 1952. He was promoted to captain in 1953 and served as flag captain of the

from 1953 to 1956, and in 1957 he was promoted to rear admiral. He then served as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1957 to 1961 and as Acting Commander-in-Chief of the

in 1961 and as Commander-in-Chief of the

from 1962 to 1966. As a practical sailor with experience from both the large ships and destroyers and with deep knowledge, he strongly influenced the development of tactics. This was especially evident during his time as Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet. The new operational tactics, which were developed and which primarily aimed at surprising attacks after breaking out of the archipelago and then rapid attacks against a detected enemy force, were based on advanced navigation using radar. An important aid was a so-called navigation disc developed by him. The method was also used during his time as a consultant at the

Swedish Maritime Administration The Swedish Maritime Administration () is the government agency in Sweden which provides services to the transport sector by keeping the sea lanes open and safe. The agency is to a certain degree financed through fees levied on commercial shippin ...

for training pilots in navigating tankers in archipelago routes in difficult conditions and in navigating supertankers in waters such as the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. In 1966, Blidberg became commanding officer of the Naval Command East which the same year became the East Coast Naval Base. As commander of the East Coast Naval Base (and former chief of staff), he had a decisive influence on the navy's relocation to Muskö. At 07:59 on Wednesday morning, 16 July 1969, rear admiral Blidberg, boarded a longboat at Skeppsholmen. The time was deliberately chosen - no swallowtailed naval ensign was hoisted over the Admiralty House. The naval base had regrouped to Muskö after 329 years in central

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 ...

. Blidberg retired two years later in 1971 and was promoted to vice admiral. Blidberg served as chairman of the Swedish Society for Maritime History (''Sjöhistoriska samfundet'') from 1968 to 1987 and later became an honorary member of the same. After retirement, Blidberg served as a nautical consultant in many at the

from 1971 to 1983.

Personal life

In 1937, Blidberg married Ingrid Harboe (1915–1993), the daughter of Henrik Harboe and Anna de Verdier. He was the father of Carl-Henrik (born 1938), Ragnhild (born 1939), Eva (born 1941), Irene (born 1945), Einar (born 1948).

Death

Blidberg died on 21 March 1993 in

. The funeral service was held on 13 April 1993 in Skeppsholmen Church in Stockholm. He was interred at Galärvarvskyrkogården on 30 June 1993.

Dates of rank

*1928 – Acting sub-lieutenant *1930 – Sub-lieutenant *1939 –

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 ...

*1945 – Lieutenant commander *1950 –

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

*1953 –

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 ...

*1957 –

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

*1971 –

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_Grand_Cross_BAR

Commander Grand Cross 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 ...

(6 June 1968) * Royal_Order_of_the_Sword_-_Commander_1st_Class_BAR

Commander 1st Class of the

(28 November 1959) * Order_of_the_Vasa_-_Ribbon_bar

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 ...

* Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences' Gold Medal * Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences's Silver Medal * Ahlberg Prize (''Ahlbergska priset'')

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 ...

(1 July 1962) * FIN_Order_of_the_Lion_of_Finland_3Class_BAR

Commander of the

Order of the Lion of Finland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Knight of the

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 ...

Honours

*Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1943; also honorary member) *Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1956) *Honorary member of the Swedish Society for Maritime History (''Sjöhistoriska samfundet'')

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blidberg, Einar 1906 births 1993 deaths Swedish Navy vice admirals People from Kramfors Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Order of Vasa Burials at Galärvarvskyrkogården