Norrbotten Air Force Wing
Norrbotten Air Force Wing (Swedish: Norrbottens flygflottilj), also F 21 Luleå, or simply F 21, is a Swedish Air Force 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 squadrons of multirole aircraft. F 21 in the north and F 17 in the south are the two wings remaining to have operational squadrons. F 7 is a school where pilots begin their training in the JAS 39 Gripen. After that the pilot's training is moved out to the two operational wings there they learn their final skills.
| Norrbotten Air Force Wing | |
|---|---|
| Norrbottens flygflottilj | |
 | |
| Active | 1941–present |
| Country | Sweden |
| Allegiance | Swedish Armed Forces |
| Branch | Swedish Air Force |
| Type | Wing |
| Role | Recon wing (1949–1961) Fighter & recon wing (1961–2002) Fighter wing (2002–present) |
| Garrison/HQ | Luleå |
| March | "Stratos" (Råberg)[note 1] |
| Insignia | |
| Roundels |   |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Attack | |
| Bomber | |
| Electronic warfare | |
| Fighter | |
| Multirole helicopter | |
| Reconnaissance | |
| Transport | |
F 21 today
Parts of the Swedish helicopter forces are today stationed at F 21 with MEDEVAC in subarctic climate as its main task. The wing uses the coat of arms of Luleå as the emblem. F 21 currently operates two HKP 10B in Afghanistan.
F21 figures in the crime novel The Red Wolf by Liza Marklund.
Current fleet:
- JAS 39 Gripen
- NHIndustries NH90 (HKP 14)
Heraldry and traditions
Colours, standards and guidons
The colour was presented to the then Royal Norrbotten Air Base Corps (F 21) at Barkarby by His Majesty the King Gustaf V on 17 September 1944.[2] The colour is drawn by Brita Grep and embroidered by hand in insertion technique by the company Libraria. Blazon: "On blue cloth in the centre the badge of the Air Force; a winged two-bladed propeller under a royal crown proper, all in yellow. In the first corner the town badge of Luleå; two white keys in saltire, the left inverted."[2]
Coat of arms
The units first coat of arms, used by the Royal Norrbotten Air Base Corps was used from 1941 to 1963. Blazon: "Azure, powdered with estoiles or, the provincial badge of Västerbotten, a reindeer courant argent, armed and langued gules".[3] The units second coat of arms, used by Norrbotten Air Force Wing was used from 1963 to 1994. Blazon: "Argent, the town badge of Luleå, two keys azure in saltire, sinister inverted."[3] The current coat of arms has been used since 1994. Blazon: "Argent, the town badge of Luleå, two keys azure in saltire, sinister inverted, a chief azure charged with a winged two-bladed propeller or".[3]
Coat of arms used from 1941 to 1963.
Coat of arms used from 1963 to 1994.- Coat of arms used from 1994.
Medals
In 1996, the Norrbottens flygflottiljs (F 21) förtjänstmedalj ("Norrbotten Air Force Wing (F 21) Medal of Merit") in gold (NorrbffljGM) of the 8th size was established. The medal ribbon is blue with red edges and a yellow stripe on the middle.[4]
Commanding officers
From 1941 to 1963, the commanding officers was referred to as kårchef ("corps commander") and had the rank of lieutenant colonel. From 1942, the corps commander had the rank of colonel. From 1942 to 1957, the commanding officer of F 21 was also commanding officer of Upper Norrland Air Base Area (Övre Norrlands flygbasområde, Flybo ÖN). When the wing organization was introduced in 1963, the commanding officer was referred to as flottiljchef ("wing commander"), and had the rank of colonel. From 1976 to 1994, the wing commander was referred to as sektorflottiljchef ("sector wing commander") and had the rank of colonel 1st class. From 1 July 1994, the commanding officer is again referred to as flottiljchef ("wing commander"), and has the rank of colonel.
Corps, wing and sector wing commanders
- 1941–1942: Fredrik Adilz
- 1942–1946: Gösta von Porat
- 1946–1951: Lars-Erik Tornberg
- 1951–1957: Hugo Svenow
- 1957–1959: Gunnar Lindberg
- 1959–1965: Bengt Bellander
- 1965–1966: Jan Oterdahl
- 1966–1969: Tord Norlin
- 1969–1976: Rune Larsson
- 1976–1980: Hans Hansson
- 1980–1982: Lars-Bertil Persson
- 1982–1984: Bert Stenfeldt
- 1984–1987: Carl-Johan Rundberg
- 1987–1991: Roland Magndahl
- 1991–1993: Kent Harrskog
- 1993–1994: Curt Westberg
- 1994–1998: Roland Sterner
- 1998–2001: Frank Fredriksson
- 2002–2005: Jan Otterström
- 2005–2008: Lars Jäderblom
- 2008–2011: Per Nilsson
- 2011–2015: Fredrik Bergman
- 2015–2018: Carl-Johan Edström
- 2018–20xx: Claes Isoz
Deputy sector wing commanders
In order to relieve the sector wing commander, a deputy sector wing commander position was added in 1975. Its task was to lead the unit procurement, a task largely similar to the old wing commander position. Hence he was also referred to as flottiljchef ("wing commander"). The deputy sector wing commander had the rank of colonel. On 30 June 1993, the deputy sector wing commander position was terminated.
- 1975–1976: Hans Hansson
- 1977–1979: Bror Larsson
- 1980–1984: Carl-Johan Rundberg
- 1984–1988: Karl-Göte Widén
- 1988–1990: Kent Harrskog
- 1990–1993: ?
Names, designations and locations
| Name | Translation | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kungl. Norrbottens flygbaskår | Royal Norrbotten Air Base Corps | 1941-07-01 | – | 1963-06-30 |
| Kungl. Norrbottens flygflottilj | Royal Norrbotten Air Force Wing | 1963-07-01 | – | 1974-12-31 |
| Norrbottens flygflottilj | Norrbotten Air Force Wing | 1975-01-01 | – | |
| Designation | From | To | ||
| F 21 | 1941-07-01 | – | 1957-09-30 | |
| F 21/Se ÖN1 | 1957-10-01 | – | 1965-??-?? | |
| F 21/Se ÖN3 | 1957-10-01 | – | 1981-??-?? | |
| F 21/Se ÖN | 1981-??-?? | – | 1993-06-30 | |
| F 21/FK N | 1993-07-01 | – | 1994-06-30 | |
| F 21 | 1994-07-01 | – | ||
| Location | From | To | ||
| Luleå Airport | 1941-07-01 | – |
Footnotes
- The march was adopted and established on 22 January 1985.[1]
References
Notes
- Sandberg 2007, p. 27
- Braunstein 2004, p. 75
- Braunstein 2006, p. 62
- Braunstein 2007, p. 101
Print
- Braunstein, Christian (2004). Svenska försvarsmaktens fälttecken efter millennieskiftet [The flags and standards of the Swedish Armed Forces after the turn of the millennium] (PDF). Skrift / Statens försvarshistoriska museer, 1101-7023 ; 7 [dvs 8] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Statens försvarshistoriska museer. ISBN 91-971584-7-X. SELIBR 9815350.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Braunstein, Christian (2006). Heraldiska vapen inom det svenska försvaret [Heraldry of the Swedish Armed Forces] (PDF). Skrift / Statens försvarshistoriska museer, 1101-7023 ; 9 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Statens försvarshistoriska museer. ISBN 91-971584-9-6. SELIBR 10099224.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Braunstein, Christian (2007). Utmärkelsetecken på militära uniformer [Decorations on Swedish military uniforms] (PDF). Skrift / Statens försvarshistoriska museer, 1101-7023 ; 12 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Statens försvarshistoriska museer. ISBN 978-91-976220-2-8. SELIBR 10423295.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Sandberg, Bo (2007). Försvarets marscher och signaler förr och nu: marscher antagna av svenska militära förband, skolor och staber samt igenkännings-, tjänstgörings- och exercissignaler (in Swedish) (New ed.). Stockholm: Militärmusiksamfundet med Svenskt marscharkiv. ISBN 978-91-631-8699-8. SELIBR 10413065.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
Further reading
- Andersson, Karl-Gustav; Ekström, Karl-Erik; Jonsson, Anders, eds. (2003). F 21: nyckelflottilj i norr (in Swedish). Luleå: F 21 Norrbottens flygflottilj. ISBN 9163138395. SELIBR 9002377.
- Karlsson, Kurt; Åström, Signar; Magndahl, Roland; Blixt, Ivar (1991). F 21: 50 år och framåt (in Swedish). Luleå: Norrbottens flygflottilj. SELIBR 1278856.
