Greger Falk

{{Short description|Swedish Air Force officer}}

{{Infobox military person

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Greger Falk

| honorific_suffix =

| image = Porträttfotografi_av_Greger_Falk,_inspektör_för_Luftbevakningen_1953-1957_FVMF.003319.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Falk as colonel (circa 1953–57)

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| birth_name = Kurt Bengt Greger Fredrik H:son Falk

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|3|13|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Visby, Sweden

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1990|1|20|1913|3|13|df=yes}}

| death_place = Djursholm, Sweden

| placeofburial =

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| allegiance = Sweden

| branch = Swedish Air Force

| serviceyears = 1931–1967

| rank = Major General

| servicenumber =

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| commands = {{bulleted list|Södermanland Wing|Vice Chief of the Air Staff|Inspector of the Control and Reporting System|Fourth Air Group|Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration}}

| battles = Winter War

| battles_label =

| awards =

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}}

Major General Kurt Bengt Greger Fredrik H:son Falk (13 March 1910 – 20 January 1990) was a Swedish Air Force officer. His senior commands include positions as the Inspector of the Control and Reporting System (1953–1957), the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (1951–1953), commanding officer of the Fourth Air Group (1957–1961), as well as Vice Chief and then Chief of the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration (1961–1967).

Early life

Falk was born on 13 March 1910 in Visby, Sweden, the son of Major General {{ill|Hjalmar Falk (Swedish Army officer)|lt=Hjalmar Falk|sv|Hjalmar Falk (general)}} and his wife Kerstin Söderberg.{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemarvem/norr68/0650.html |editor1-last=Davidsson |editor1-first=Åke |date=1968 |title=Vem är vem? |volume=5, Norrland : supplement, register |trans-title=Who's Who? |edition=2nd |location=Stockholm |publisher=Vem är vem bokförlag |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|53513}} |page=626}} He had one sister, Sonja Anne-Louise (born 13 August 1911).{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/pk/1936/0167.html |editor-last=Sydow |editor-first=Waldemar von |title=Publicistklubbens porträttmatrikel 1936: med biografiska uppgifter om publicistklubbens medlemmar ; på uppdrag av Publicistklubbens styrelse |year=1935 |publisher=Publicistklubben |location=Stockholm |language=sv |id={{LIBRIS|314977}} |page=157}} He passed studentexamen in Stockholm in 1928.

Career

Falk was commissioned as an officer in 1931 and was assigned as a second lieutenant to Norrbotten Regiment in Boden. He transferred to the Swedish Air Force where he became a lieutenant in 1936, and captain in 1940. During 1939–1940, Falk participated as a volunteer soldier in the Swedish Voluntary Air Force (F 19) at the Salla Front in Finland during the Winter War.{{cite web |url=https://www.gotlandsforsvarshistoria.se/biografica/akter-1/1487.htm |website=www.gotlandsforsvarshistoria.se |title=Kurt Bengt Greger Fredrik Hjalmarsson - Falk |access-date=14 September 2023 |language=sv}} Falk attended the Royal Swedish Air Force Staff College in 1943, and served as teacher in the art of air warfare at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College in 1943,{{cite book |url=https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/handle/2077/63364/gupea_2077_63364_1.pdf |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1945 |year=1945 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=380}} and was promoted to major in 1944. He was appointed head of the Organisation Department in the Air Staff in 1944.{{cite book |url=https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/handle/2077/63364/gupea_2077_63364_1.pdf |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1945 |year=1945 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=117}}

Falk was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1947 and was appointed commanding officer of the Södermanland Wing in 1949. He was promoted to colonel in 1951 and served as Vice Chief of the Air Staff in 1951. Falk was appointed Inspector of the Control and Reporting System of the Swedish Air Force in 1953 and attended the Swedish National Defence College in 1954. He was commanding officer of the Fourth Air Group (Fjärde flygeskadern, E 4) in 1957, attended the Swedish National Defence College in 1959, and was promoted to major general in 1959. He served as Vice Chief of the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration from 1961 to 1963 and as chief of the same from 1963 to 1967. In his capacity as Vice Chief and Chief of the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration, he was a member of the Administration Board of the Swedish Armed Forces from 1961 to 1967.Kungl. Maj:ts instruktion för försvarets förvaltningsdirektion, SFS 1959:546, p. 1388.Kungl. Maj:ts kungörelse om ändrad lydelse av 7 och 8 §§ instruktionen den 11 december 1959 (nr 546) för försvarets förvaltningsdirektion, SFS 1963:291, p. 636.Kungl. Maj:ts instruktion för försvarets förvaltningsdirektion, SFS 1965:832, p. 1996.

Falk served as military adviser at the Instituut voor Tuinbouwtechniek, the Netherlands from 1967, as board member of the Swedish National Defence Research Institute and National Aeronautical Research Institute from 1961 to 1967. After Falk retired from the air force, he worked as a consultant for Standard Radio & Telefon AB from 1967 to 1975.{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemardet/1985/0321.html |title=Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1985 |trans-title=Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1985 |year=1984 |location=Stockholm |publisher=Norstedt |language=sv |isbn=91-1-843222-0 |id={{SELIBR|3681527}} |page=321}}

Personal life

In 1936, Falk married Margit Holmberg (1917–1994), the daughter of factory manager Harald Holmberg and Annie (née Wersén). They had two children: Monica (born 1938) and Ingela (born 1942).

Death

Falk died on 20 January 1990 in Djursholm, Sweden, and was interred at {{ill|Djursholm Cemetery|sv|Djursholms begravningsplats}} in Djursholm.{{cite web |url=https://svenskagravar.se/gravsatt/e0cda6a6-b79f-4fa9-9133-045f31f94931 |website=www.svenskagravar.se |title=Falk, Kurt Bengt Greger* Fredrik |access-date=14 September 2023 |language=sv}}

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

=Swedish=

  • 50x50px {{flagicon|Sweden}} Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1957){{cite book |url=https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/handle/2077/65026/gupea_2077_65026_1.pdf |title=Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1968 |year=1968 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=95}}
  • 50x50px {{flagicon|Sweden}} Commander of the Order of the Sword (5 June 1954){{cite book |url=https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/handle/2077/64334/gupea_2077_64334_1.pdf |title=Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1956 |year=1956 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=12}}
  • 50x50px {{flagicon|Sweden}} Knight of the Order of the Sword (1946){{cite book |url=https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/handle/2077/64210/gupea_2077_64210_1.pdf |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1950 |year=1950 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Stockholm |language=sv |page=22}}
  • 50x50px {{flagicon|Sweden}} Knight of the Order of Vasa (1948){{cite book |url=https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/handle/2077/64210/gupea_2077_64210_1.pdf |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1950 |year=1950 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Stockholm |language=sv |page=171}}

=Foreign=

Honours

Bibliography

  • {{cite book

|last=Falk

|first=Greger

|last2=Bruun |first2=C-E |last3=Temmes |first3=K J

|title=En krönika om F19: den svenska frivilliga flygflottiljen i Finland under vinterkriget 1939-1940

|series=Flyghistorisk revy, 0345-3413 ; 33

|year=1988

|publisher=Svensk flyghistorisk fören.

|location=Stockholm

|language=sv

|id={{LIBRIS|8212840}}

}}

References

{{Commons category|Greger Falk}}

{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-mil}}

{{succession box

| title = Vice Chief of the Air Staff

| years = 1951–1953

| before = Torsten Rapp

| after = Stig Möller

}}

{{succession box

| title = Inspector of the Control and Reporting System

| years = 1953–1957

| before = Birger Schyberg

| after = Stig Norén

}}

{{succession box

| title = Fourth Air Group

| years = 1957–1961

| before = Ingvar Berg

| after = Gösta Odqvist

}}

{{succession box

| title = Vice Chief and Chief of the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration

| years = 1961–1967

| before = Lage Thunberg

| after = None

}}

{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falk, Greger}}

Category:1910 births

Category:1990 deaths

Category:Swedish Air Force major generals

Category:Swedish volunteers in the Winter War

Category:People from Visby

Category:Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences

Category:Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword