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Flight Lt. Sven Lampell Royal Swedish Airforce 1940 - 45
Flying Cadet Sven - A 1940's SAF Jaktfalken trainer - Squadron Symbol 15th Ground Attack Wing 1965-72 When World War Two starts on September 1st 1939 the Swedish Airforce consists of only 180 combat aircraft. Located between Norway to the west and Finland to the east, Swedens position was precarious at best. The Germans badly wanted the iron ore from Scandavian mines, as well as bases to hit the convoys sending munitions to the Soviet Union. The British and French early in the war wanted to deny this ore to Germany and considered mining Scandinvian water ways. In the end Sweden managed to maintain her neutrality, becoming a haven for damaged Allied and Axis aircraft alike in as well as quietly taking in refugees from Denmark as that nation undertook to save many of her citizens from deportation.
Above the Swedish Jaktfalken, an aircraft used for advanced fighter training in WWII. Photo Courtesy of Hakkan Gustavsson
Work in progress 3/16/2002
Sven Lampel was born the 18th December, 1920 at Kanalgatan (Channelstreet) 21 in the then small city of Sodertalje just south
of Stockholm into a typical Swedish middle class family. His two older sisters and one younger brother remember that he voiced his desire to be a pilot at a very early age. His inspiration, like many young boys of his day was the solo flight of Charles Lindberg across the Atlantic in 1927. 
It is hard for people today to understand the great excitement that this caused in the western world. Sven says "I would have been a pilot,war or no war."
My father's name was Hjalmar Lampell and my mother's Tyra Berglund. The old man was a tradesman in fur and
clothing, mum was simply a housewife(as most honorable women in those good old days). I went through elementary, grammar, high school and college, all in Stockholm. There was no car in the family, but I was the happy owner of a bicycle.
I had no occupation as I was enlisted in the airforce a week after finishing school. However,as our happy family,
marked by love, care and unswerving solidarity, was not very well to do, all the children at a rather early age had to
find work during holidays and periods free from studies in order to contribute to the families subsistence. The money
was given to father who, sometimes conditions permitting, gave some back for own expenses. Thus I worked in many different fields, among others as swimming instructor, postman, sports writer, film actor(minor parts), delivery boy and
pawnshop assistant. The last one very educating in regard to the hardship of life and the problems of everyday people.
Dating for young people in Sweden was not much different from other countries.
Sven:
"We were not chaperoned. We could meet freely but under rather strict rules. And what did you do? Mostly you walked around in some romantic environment holding hands and dreaming about a glorious future or, if occasionly you could
round up enough dough, went to see a movie and finished with a cup of chocolate with whipped cream. Homecoming time was not negotiable, normally around 10pm or perhaps, pleading special events, such as a school dance or other
similarly innocent entertainment, extended till 11pm. A rather pastoral idyll compared with today's advanced
rave up." Sven met his wife Eva at the age of 16. "We met when we were 16. Her brother and I were buddies. One day I was at their place playing table tennis
on the dinner table, when she suddenly entered the room. Bjorn,the brother,was very disturbed and just snapped
"That is Eva,my sister". She pottered about for a few seconds,then disappeared. No more ping-pong for me.I was
immediately lost and still am. After a week of brutal agony I dared to invite her out and she agreed.
Her name is Eva Dahlbeck 
In point of fact she became the leading Swedish theater actress and filmstar from 1942
till 1964 comparable to Ingrid Bergman. She got many offers to go to Hollywood but was never interested.Instead
she just left on the height of her carreer and started writing books.That is her style. She has published 15 novels
and also poetry,theater plays and translations from Italian to Swedish "We formed from the beginning a very firm relationship that is
holding good till this day."
[ Note: There are a lot of sites on the web relating to Eva Dahlbeck in both her film and literary careers, click on her highlighted name above to go to just one of them. She also has a connection to early Swedish avaition.
Sven: "Her uncle,navy lieutenant Olof Dahlbeck
was the first military pilot in Sweden. On the fourth of February 1912 he flew the first Swedish military aircraft,
taking off from a frozen lake just outside Stockholm.That date is considered the birthday of the Swedish airforce.
He made a distinguished career,among other things he was the commanding officer of the Lithuanian airforce
fighting as a volunteer against the Russians when they invaded the Baltic states just after World War 1. Unfortunately
he died very young of pneumonia in 1930.This I came to know much later when I studied airforce history at the
cadet school.When I saw his name I thought there must be some family relationship which was confirmed when
I followed up. It seemed the Dahlbeck family never realised the importance of this prominant gentleman until I
told them.Before that I never heard a word mentioned about it.
Prior to the war the farthest Sven had ventured from home was to Berlin Germany in 1936 as member of his college's athletics team. [Berlin was also the site of the 1936 Olymipcs.]
Sven comments on the feelings in Sweden in the early days of WWII.
The atmosphere was not fearful but rather tense.The morale was very high and the determination to defend the
country at all costs unshakable.When Denmark and Norway were invaded on 9th April 1940 the whole population
was on immediate alert for several weeks. I got a letter from the national defence forces telling me I was drafted into the army. However,when I reported to
the enlistment bureau I requested transfer to the airforce,which was granted.
Sven as a cadet in 1940 just after call-up
A week after leaving college I was called to a test center in middle Sweden together with 800 other applicants.
There we underwent physical and mental tests of various sort,as well as a kind of test flying in light trainer aircraft.
It was a rather rough time,two weeks,and only 120 passed. After another couple of months at the central flying school
only 42 remained. About 5% of the original applicants. There were no rituals for a pilots solo flight. Sven "The one or two who had gone solo on any certain day were obliged to pay for a round of beer in the cadets mess."
The graduation ceremony seems to be a bit tougher for the Swedes vs the Americans.
Svens description of the day "There was no special ceremony, but never the less a memorable day. It started in the morning with some ground
exercise,i.e. examinations such as navigation,aerodynamics,arms theory etc followed by military drill,shooting at the
shooting range and gymnastics display etc, where individual cadets were selected to perform different tasks to
demonstrate ability of leadership,initiative and command etc.All supervised by rigid examinors. In the afternoon
after a common lunch with the examinors and perhaps a bit more tasty menu than usual followed flying exercises
consisting of navigaton,aerobatics,simulated forced landings a.s.o. with examinors in the instructor^s seat. Included
was also examination of your proficiency in regard to aircraftmanship and general knowledge about engines and
aircraft stucture etc. Nobody was washed out during examination day, but 22 ( 2 killed) had been during the passed year.
After having got through all that we were just lined up on the apron and the Commander in Chief of the Airforce
handed out our wings preceded by a short and vigorous speech.
Families were allowed to attend as spectators and some did. No member of my family was,however, present as it
was too far and expensive to travel all the way from Stockholm.
We got our wings in June 1941. We were granted one weeks leave for Midsummer,when I went with Eva to my parents
summerhouse in the countryside. However,this was abruptly interrupted after only two days when the Germans invaded Russia,operation Barbarossa, and all military prsonnel were immediately called back to their units. During the war everyone feared invasion which obviously would include bombing.
All military pilots got their basic training at The Central Flying school in southern Sweden. The instructors were military pilots. All military pilots got their basic training at The Central Flyingschool in southern Sweden. After getting my wings I was just told that I was assigned to dive bombers, there ws no explanation of why this unit was selected. My training to become
a ground attack ( dive bomber) pilot took place at No.4 ground attack wing in the north part of the country. After getting my wings in June -41 I was assigned to No.4 ground attack wing in northern Sweden for combat
training.Following two winter periods were spent at the cadet school in the same location as the central flying--
school in the south for officers training.,where I graduated as pilot officer in May -43.Then I was transferred to
No. 12 ground attack wing in the south that was in the procees of being set up.
None of Svens direct family served in the war. However,two brothers- in- law did, one in the navy and one in the army. Unlike the United States there were no family memberers working in war industries. This kind of mobilization of the civil population existed but was very rare.
Below the Saab 17. Those landing gear covers are unique as the gear folds straight back. The Saab 17 may have had some difficulty if it had to sortie from rough or dirt fields. 
In 1943 Sven graduated as a pilot officer and served in a ground attack squadron in the dive bombers. During the war we operated all the time from grassfields. Hard runways came later after the war. None of the bases where I was stationed was ever attacked and I was never wounded. There was a lot of flying and border patrol.
For Sven the border patrol was less about defending against attacker late in the war. Sven: The escort was not out of our airspace but rather into. Especially towards the end of the war there were many who took refuge
in Sweden for various reasons, some were damaged, others were just fed up with the whole thing. We were neutral, so there were no enemies.
Svens family supposedly did not know where he was stationed, but Sweden is not that large and airfields were not numerous. Says Sven. "In principle no,it (my location) was supposed to be secret. All mail was channelled through a central military post service.
You wrote only the name of the addressee and the special code number given to the unit a airman belonged to. Life was in general rather dull.Those airstrips were mostly in quite remote places with very little distraction
available.You were reduced to physical exercises ,reading books, social life at the officers mess etc.If occasionally
there was a village or a small town nearby you could see a movie or, very rarely, attend a ball dance arranged by
some local club or organisation.The only time you really could enjoy yourself was when you managed to get a
few days leave and go back home. As a whole those years were marked by strong
motivation, high spirit, firm friendship and satisfaction.And also a lot of fun.You had a feeling that what you did was meaningful.They belong simply to the Good old Days.
The Swedes did not have a similar custom of stars hanging in windows or other such indications of loved ones in service. This appears to be a unique American practice. Nor was there a rotation system for release from the service as then served internaly.
After the war I just continued my carreer in the airforce until I resigned in 1972. The first fighter I flew after
t he transfer from dive bombers was the swedish built J22.Then followed the Mustang (J26),the D.H.Vampyre
(J28), the Hawker Hunter (J34) and finally the delta wing Dragon (J35)
In 1946 Sven was transferred to fighters with the rapid expansion of the SAF that brought rapid promotion to Squadron leader and heavy responsibility. In 1950 he bacame a flight Leiutenant and in 1952 joined the training group of the SAF staff organization. During 1954 Sven helped to introduce the Air Pentathlon to the R.S.A.F. and was a member of the world champion team in 1954, 56, and 58.
Sven was Wing Commander "Flying" with the ACRO-Hunters Aerobatic team from 1955-60. As a liaison officer with the English he served in NO. 98 Squadron RAF in England and Germany for six months, later introducing the Hawker Hunter to operations with the R.S.A.F.
Sven climbing out of his Hunter aircraft at No. 18 Fighterwing where he was the Wing Commander Flying.
In 1955 he returned to permanently to flying duties where he stayed eventually becoming a full Wing Commander and Chief of Staff in 1960 with the No. 3 Fighter group. Atanced to the UN
In 1961 through 1963 Sven was the Commanding Officer of the U.N. (United Nations) Fighter Wing in the Congo, Africa. Of those days probably not remembered by many he says.
I was never involved in actual combat in WWII. That came later in the Congo 1961-63. Flying conditions were indeed difficult and extremely hazardous,no weather
forecast, no maps, no navigation aids, no search and rescue service and every mission on maximum range without a single alternative base. You most often came back with less than 200 litres in your tanks. However,the most difficult
thing for me,being the CO of the UN Fighter Wing,was not really the flying but the painful duty to send out the young
pilots under these awful conditions. In addition,being a Swedish officer, brought up with the ethics of the Swedish armed forces that force is justified only in self defence, I had some mental problem with my personal conviction. What was I doing here in the middle of Africa, flying around shooting at people who had done me no harm and with whom I never had had any problem? My only escape was to tell myself that I had accepted the job and had better to make the best of it. We were told we helped to save the World Peace. May be.
From 1965 -1972 he was the base commander and Group Captain for a ground attack wing in Northern Sweden. During his long and distinguished career he had to bail out at low altitude in 1968 after an engine failure and survived 11 crash landings.
Sven was recognized by by his country and the International Red cross during his long career
Knight Commander of the Order of the Sword
Officer of the Oranian--Nassau Order (Netherlands)
Ribbon for The Badge for Merit (gold) of the Swedish Military Sports association
Ribbon for The Badge for Merit (gold) of the Swedish Red Cross Society
The United Nations Congo Medal
The Prince Carl Medal (for distinguished international humanitarian service)
Most pilots are not really superstitious and neither is Sven but he carried a good luck charm. Sven: "Concerning my talisman. Soon after we started dating Eva sewed up a small heart of red American cloth and told me to
always keep it with me. It should deliver two things, firstly I would never forget her,secondly it should protect me. I think it
has served me very well indeed. Surely I never forgot her and it's protective strength has been proved countless times over
the years. As far as can be humanly judged I should have been dead and buried several times by now but I am still up and around.
)Sven has flown the following military aircraft.Sk=trainer; S=reconnaissance; J=fighter: A=groundattack: B=divebomber
DH 82/ Sk 11; FW Stieglitz/ Sk 12; NA 16/Sk 14; Kl 35/ Sk 15; NA Noorduyn 16/Sk 16; Bu 18/ Sk 25; Saab 91/Sk50;
Fieseler Storch/ S 14; Fokker C/ S 6;
FFvs/ J22; NA P 51 Mustang/ J26; DH 100 Vampire/J 28; Saab 29/ J 29; Hawker Hunter/ J34; Saab 35 Dragon/J35;
F 86 Sabre (no Swedish classification; when he served with No' 98 sqdn RAF in northern Germany)
Saab 32 Lance/ A32
Hawker Hart/B 4; Northrop 8/B 5; Saab 17; B 17;
Sven: "In addition there are some small civil crates like Cessna and Piper.Altogether I have logged some 7500 flying hours."
Sven resigned in 1972 to join the International Red Cross in Geneva Switzerland. Assigned to disaster services, Sven retired in 1996 after over 74 missions to disaster areas around the world. His last mission was to Zaire (ex- Congo) the same spot that his international career had begun 25 years earlier.
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Today in retirement like many of his peers he finds himself busy. Sven: "I have always been so busy with work and on the side activities that there has been no time for hobbies.The situation is
still the same. My eldest son proposes I should take up golf and my answer is that I will when I get old.
We have two sons.Tomas,the eldest, runs his own business producing graphic art and the younger one lives in
Paris and is "professeur de musique" teaching at the Conservatoire National de Paris and the University of Rhene.He is
also an outstanding piano player. God only knows from where those two guys have got their artistic disposition.It is
certainly not from me. Eva is the only option. She has got plenty.
I believe they know my past (and also Eva's) quite well. They have always been very interested in their parents' doings
and also very "family minded". Besides I have written an autobiographical book. I am a member of the "Retired airforce colonels' club" where we come together six or seven times a year. Sometimes a
shocking experience when you find yourself sitting beside a fellow who came to your station as a cadet and now is
as good a pensioner as yourself. Time,whatever it is,is passing very fast.
E-Mail Me @
worldwar2mem@yahoo.com
Copyright © Ken Arnold 1999. All rights reserved.
The early Swedish Airforce consists of one Light Bomber wing with British Hawker Harts 
that were gradually replaced by American Northrop 8-A1'a
one Bomber Wing with Junker JU86-K's one fighter wing with British Gloster Gladiators
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gradually replaced with Serversky/Republic EP-1's (P-35s' to US readers. ) and two recon wings with Heinkel Hansa and Fokker CV-E's later replaced with Caproni 313's
Sweden like most Scandivavian nations imported most of their front line aircraft for much of the 1930's and 40's. They did build two fine indigenous aircraft in the F.F.V.S. J 22 fighter and the Saab 17 & 18 bomber/attack/recon aircraft as well as excellent trainers. The total production of these two aircraft was 198 of the J-22, 222 of the Saab 17's and 244 of the Saab-18 of each example. These aircraft stayed on in service well into the 1950's. Photos below Courtesy of Urban Fredriksson
Above the FFVS J-22 Fighter and the Saab J18 Bomber/Ground Attack/Recon aircraft
Italian fighter aircraft used by the Swedes included the Fiat CR 42 and the Reganni 2000,
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These later equipped a wing each. With the invasion of Denmark the SAF was put on alert and patrolled the border to defend against a feared attack by Germany.
By 1941 another wing of SAAB 17's are fielded and 1942 sees the testing of the FVVS 22 fighter and SAAB 18 twin engined attack/bomber. 1943 sees Sweden developing ejection seats with its J-21 fighters. 
Sweden was one of the few nations that fielded its rear engined twin boomed experiment. All nations tried variation on it, but most gave up. Over 300 were built and it stayed in service through 1950. The need for the ejection seat is obvious. By 1944 the SAF has a standing force of 430 aircraft and with the wars end the SAF purchases surplus P-51 Mustangs from the USA surplus.
Swedens Airforce includes some 550 aircraft today and is still a growing force.
Thanks to Karl Erik Fernander for this background data: 
Karl-Erik Fernander was in training from June 6 1944 through wars end in 1945. He has a unique perspective on the war years as a neutral nations airman in training. He enjoyed a long career in avaition before retirement in 1985 flying over 22 different types of aircraft, e.g a number of SAAB aircraft: SAAB 17 Light Bomber, 21 Fighter, 29 Fighter, 32 Fighter, 35 Fighter and 37 Fighterbomber. Karl indicates that often Swedish pilots are asked the question "How many aircraft did you shoot down?" In fact says Karl this is the wrong question as the task of the SAF like their counterparts in Switzerland was to supervise Swedish territory and dismiss intruders. "Only if the intruders made aggressive acts were SAF aircrews allowed to shoot them down." During WWII over 342 foreign aircraft sought refuge in Sweden due to emergency landings, battle damage, defection, bad navigation and at wars end escape from the Allies. 59 of these were from England and another 142 were from the USA and 121 from Germany especially in the spring of 1945. 2000 aircrews were interned during the war and repatriated at its end.
Sweden had a volunteer force that assisted Finland in the 1st Winter War with the Soviet Union. The Gloster Galdiators and Hawker Harts flown by the Swedes destroyed 12 Soviet aircraft in the northern part of Finland before the armistice. (see Hakkans Biplane Fighter Page Link for more detail)
Links
Four excellent sites on Swedish military avaition
Mikael's Swedish Aircraft page Most B/W photos are his.
Hakans Biplane Fighters
Swedish Volunter Unit in Finland & Swedish Military Avaition in General
Swedish Avaition Historical SocietySome great Photos of Swedish Aircraft, Swedish language of course.
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