Einar Blidberg

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Einar Blidberg
Blidberg as rear admiral.
Birth nameCarl Einar Blidberg
Born(1906-09-20)20 September 1906
Kramfors, Sweden
Died21 March 1993(1993-03-21) (aged 86)
Stockholm, Sweden
Buried
Galärvarvskyrkogården
AllegianceSweden
Service/branchSwedish Navy
Years of service1928–1971
RankVice Admiral
Commands held

Vice Admiral Carl Einar Blidberg (20 September 1906 – 21 March 1993) was a Swedish Navy officer. Blidberg served as Chief of the Naval Staff from 1957 to 1961, Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet 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[edit]

Blidberg was born on 20 September 1906 in Kramfors, Sweden, the son of Tage Blidberg and his wife Ragnhild (née Ekelund).[1] In 1923, Blidberg served as an extra cadet on the coastal defence ship HSwMS Drottning Victoria when the Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf went to London for the engagement with Louise Mountbatten, our future queen. After passing studentexamen in Falun in 1925, he was accepted as a sea cadet.[2]

Career[edit]

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 Swedish Navy in 1928 with the rank of acting sub-lieutenant.[2] 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).[2]

From 1935 to 1936, Blidberg served as a Deputy Naval Attaché in Paris. He served as commanding officer on destroyers in 1943, 1944 and in 1947.[3] After completing the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College's general and higher course, he came to be used in many important positions and investigations.[2] He was promoted to commander in 1944 and served as a teacher at the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1945 to 1948.[1] 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 HSwMS Göta Lejon[4] in 1952. He was promoted to captain in 1953 and served as flag captain of the Coastal Fleet 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 Coastal Fleet in 1961 and as Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet from 1962 to 1966.[3]

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 for training pilots in navigating tankers in archipelago routes in difficult conditions and in navigating supertankers in waters such as the English Channel.[2]

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.[2] 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.[5] Blidberg retired two years later in 1971 and was promoted to vice admiral.[3]

Blidberg served as chairman of the Swedish Society for Maritime History (Sjöhistoriska samfundet) from 1968 to 1987[6] and later became an honorary member of the same.[2] After retirement, Blidberg served as a nautical consultant in many at the Swedish Maritime Administration from 1971 to 1983.[3]

Personal life[edit]

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).[1]

Death[edit]

Blidberg died on 21 March 1993 in Stockholm. The funeral service was held on 13 April 1993 in Skeppsholmen Church in Stockholm.[7] He was interred at Galärvarvskyrkogården on 30 June 1993.[8]

Dates of rank[edit]

Awards and decorations[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Foreign[edit]

Honours[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Blidberg, Einar (1984). Nautisk studie angående sovjettankern Tsesis' grundstötning utanför Käringklubb i Södertäljeleden den 26 oktober 1977. Forum navale, 0280-6215 ; 39 (in Swedish). Stockholm. SELIBR 8913869.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Einar Blidberg.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who's Who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 166. SELIBR 53509.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lindemalm, Åke (1993). "Minnesteckningar" (PDF). Tidskrift i sjöväsendet (in Swedish) (4). Carlskrona: 157–158. SELIBR 8258455.
  3. ^ a b c d Uddling, Hans; Paabo, Katrin, eds. (1992). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1993 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1993] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. p. 142. ISBN 91-1-914072-X. SELIBR 8261513.
  4. ^ Johnson, Åke J. (31 March 1993). "DÖDSFALL". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). p. 19. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  5. ^ Iko, Per (2019). "MIRAKLET MUSKÖ" (PDF). Försvarets forum: Personaltidning för fast anställda och reservofficerare i svenska försvarsmakten (in Swedish) (5). Stockholm: Försvarets forum: 55. SELIBR 4109339.
  6. ^ Roseli, Lennart (1997). "Sjöhistoriska samfundets tillkomst och verksamhet" (PDF). Forum Navale: Skrifter (in Swedish) (53). Stockholm: Sjöhistoriska samfundet: 8. ISSN 0280-6215. SELIBR 3615255.
  7. ^ "Döda". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 25 March 1993. p. 19. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Blidberg, Karl Einar". www.svenskagravar.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  9. ^ Sköldenberg, Bengt, ed. (1969). Sveriges statskalender. 1969 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. p. 94. SELIBR 3682754.
  10. ^ Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1968 (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1968. p. 95. SELIBR 8261599.
  11. ^ "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer" [Awards of medals and medals]. www.kongehuset.no (in Norwegian). Royal Court of Norway. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
Military offices
Preceded by Flag captain
1953–1956 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of the Naval Staff
1957–1961 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander-in-Chief of the Coastal Fleet
1962–1966 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Naval Command East/East Coast Naval Base
1966–1971 		Succeeded by
Lars H:son Lundberg
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by
Magnus Hammar
 Chairman of the Swedish Society for Maritime History
1968–1987 		Succeeded by
Wilhelm Odelberg
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