Sven Hjalmar Lampell (18 December 1920 – 28 June 2007) 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.

Career

Lampell was born on 18 December 1920 in

Södertälje Södertälje ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. It is also a part of Stockholm urban area, Greater Stockholm Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, it has 73,872 inhabitants. Södert� ...

, Sweden, the son of Hjalmar Lampell, a merchant, and his wife Tyra (née Berglund).

Career

Lampell was commissioned as an officer in 1943, and was promoted to second lieutenant in 1943, captain in 1954, major in 1956 and to lieutenant colonel in the

in 1961. He was chief of flight operations at

Södertörn Wing Södertörn Wing (), also F 18 Tullinge, or simply F 18, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located in Tullinge just south-west of the capital Stockholm on the east coast. Heraldry and traditions Coat of arms Blazon: "Per ben ...

(F 18) from 1956 to 1960 and chief of staff at the Third Air Command (E 3) in 1960 and was serving with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in the Congo from 1961 to 1962 and in 1963. During the

Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis () was a period of Crisis, political upheaval and war, conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost ...

from 1961 to 1963 he was Chief Fighter Operations Officer of the Swedish UN-unit 22 U.N. Fighter Squadron (F 22). Lampell was promoted to colonel in 1965 and served in the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

as a part of the

Biafran airlift The Biafran Airlift was an international humanitarian relief effort that transported food and medicine to Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War. Relief flights lasted from 1967 to 1969. This was the largest civilian airlift and, after the Berlin ...

Biafra Biafara Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicized as Biafra ( ), officially the Republic of Biafra, was a List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, partially recognised state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria ...

from 1968 to 1969 where he organized aid flights into the encircled and starving population during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

. The sight of the starving children affected him strongly and became a turning point in his life. He served in the Red Cross in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

from 1971 to 1972 and was wing commander at

Hälsinge Wing Hälsinge Wing (), also F 15 Söderhamn, or simply F 15, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Söderhamn in northern Sweden. Heraldry and traditions Coat of arms The first coat of arms of the Hälsinge Wing was use ...

(F 15) from 1965 to 1972. He left Hälsinge Wing and the Air Force in 1972 for a position as Chief Delegate at the

International Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a aid agency, humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of Law of ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. The years serving in the Red Cross also involved missions in

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Other work

Lampell was a consultant and pilot during the filming of '' The Yellow Division'' (1954) and in the film he made, among other things, a looping around the

Västerbron () is an arch bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden. With a total length exceeding 600 m, 340 m of which stretches over water, it is one of the major bridges in Stockholm, offering one of the most panoramic views of the central part of the city cent ...

's bridge arch vault with a

Saab 91 Safir The Saab 91 Safir (Swedish for sapphire) is a three (91A, B, B-2) or four (91C, D) seater, single engine trainer aircraft. The Safir was built by Saab AB in Linköping, Sweden (203 aircraft) and by '' De Schelde'' in Dordrecht, Netherlands (120 ...

. In the early 1960s, he led the acclaimed exhibition group Acro Hunters. In addition to his military career, he was also an elite swimmer and world champion in

aeronautical pentathlon Aeronautical pentathlon is a sporting event at some multi-sport events, such as the Military World Games. Despite the name, the sport has six events: shooting, fencing, orienteering, basketball skills, obstacle course and swimming. The idea is to p ...

Personal life

In 1944 Lampell married the actress

Eva Dahlbeck Eva Elisabet Dahlbeck (8 March 1920 – 8 February 2008) was a Swedes, Swedish stage, film, and television actress. She received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film ''Brink of Life'' (1958). Dahlbeck ...

. He was the father of Tomas (born 1944) and Magnus (born 1959). Lampell died on 28 June 2007 in

Hässelby Hässelby is a Swedish town that is a part of Hässelby-Vällingby in the city of Stockholm, Sweden. It contains the suburban areas of Hässelby Gård, Hässelby Strand and Hässelby Villastad, and its territory also corresponds to Hässelb ...

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 ...

Awards and decorations

Swedish

Knight 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 ...

(1961) * Swedish Military Sports Association's medal of merit (''Sveriges militära idrottsförbunds förtjänstmedalj'')

Foreign

Officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

Friends of Liberation War Honour Awards and decorations of the Bangladesh Liberation War were decorations bestowed by the major warring parties for actions during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Bangladesh, India and Pakistan all issued awards and decorations related to the confli ...

(posthumously, 2013) * UN_ONUC_Medal_ribbon

United Nations Medal A United Nations Medal is an international decoration awarded by the United Nations (UN) to the various world countries members for participation in joint international military and police operations such as peacekeeping, humanitarian efforts, a ...

(

ONUC The United Nations Operation in the Congo (, abbreviated ONUC) was a United Nations peacekeeping force which was deployed in the Republic of the Congo in 1960 in response to the Congo Crisis. The ONUC was the UN's first peacekeeping mission wi ...

)

Bibliography

References

External links

Interview with Sven Lampell (SVT, 1961)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lampell, Sven 1920 births 2007 deaths Swedish aviators Swedish Air Force colonels Red Cross personnel People from Södertälje Knights of the Order of the Sword People of the Nigerian Civil War People of the Congo Crisis