Gunnar Bjurner

{{Infobox military person

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Gunnar Bjurner

| honorific_suffix =

| image = Gunnar_Bjurner.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| birth_name = Knut Gunnar Bjurner

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1882|1|10|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1964|1|28|1882|1|10|df=yes}}

| death_place = Stockholm, Sweden

| placeofburial = Galärvarvskyrkogården

| placeofburial_label =

| placeofburial_coordinates =

| allegiance = Sweden

| branch = Swedish Navy

| serviceyears = 1901–1947

| rank = Vice Admiral

| servicenumber =

| unit =

| commands = {{bulleted list|{{HSwMS|Dristigheten}}|{{HSwMS|Sverige}}|{{HSwMS|Oscar II}}|Karlskrona Naval Yard|Winter Squadron|South Coast Naval District|Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration}}

| battles =

| battles_label =

| awards =

| memorials =

| spouse =

| relations =

| laterwork =

| signature =

| signature_size =

| signature_alt =

| website =

| module =

}}

Knut Gunnar Bjurner (10 January 1882 – 28 January 1964) was a senior Swedish Navy officer. Bjurner commanded three different coastal defence ships, headed Karlskrona Naval Yard (1931–1936) and commanded the Winter Squadron (1933–1934) as well as the South Coast Naval District (1936–1938). Bjurner is mostly known for his work within the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration, which he headed from 1938 to 1943.

Early life

Bjurner was born on 10 January 1882 in Hedvig Eleonora Parish, Stockholm, Sweden,{{cite book |title=Sveriges dödbok 1901-2009 |trans-title=Swedish death index 1901-2009 |edition=Version 5.0 |year=2010 |publisher=Sveriges släktforskarförbund |location=Solna |language=sv |isbn=9789187676598 |id={{LIBRIS|11931231}}}} the son of Gustav Adolf Carlsson and his wife Ellen Hallström.{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/smok/1/0374.html |editor-last=Bohman |editor-first=Nils |title=Svenska män och kvinnor: biografisk uppslagsbok. 1 A-B |year=1942 |publisher=Bonnier |location=Stockholm |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|53800}} |pages=330–331}} Bjurner enrolled as a cadet at Royal Swedish Naval Academy in 1895 and was appointed at the age of 19 years to second lieutenant (underlöjtnant) in the navy in 1901.{{cite journal |url=https://www.koms.se/content/uploads/2014/01/TiS-Nr-11-1964.pdf |journal=Tidskrift i sjöväsendet |title=Knut Gunnar Bjurner |first=Gösta |last=Odqvist |year=1964 |number=11 |location=Carlskrona |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|8258455}} |page=799}}

Career

Bjurner was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1903.{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemarvem/sthlm62/0173.html |editor1-last=Harnesk |editor1-first=Paul |date=1962 |title=Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm |trans-title=Who's Who? 1, Greater Stockholm |edition=2nd |location=Stockholm |publisher=Vem är vem |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|53509}} |page=149}} Richly gifted, especially in the mathematical field, he received the highest grades from the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College (1906–1908) and the Artillery and Engineering College's higher course (1908–1910). Bjurner was promoted to lieutenant in 1910. After varying positions, specialized in the field of artillery, he received commands positions within the naval artillery, among other things as an artillery officer on the coastal defence ship {{HSwMS|Dristigheten}}, on which he in 1913 through a very skilled fire control conquered for the ship the much coveted King's Cup (Kungapokalen). He was promoted to lieutenant commander and appointed head of the Artillery Department in Karlskrona in 1919. Bjurner was then promoted to commander and appointed head of the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration's Artillery Department in 1923.

As head of the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration's Artillery Department, Bjurner got great use for his solid artillery knowledge. Based on the experiences from World War I, extensive modernisations of the warships' artillery fire-control systems were initiated through the introduction of central sight facilities and modern fire-control systems. Bjurner made efforts to develop the air defence artillery. Thus he gave the impetus for the manufacture within the country of 40 mm autocannons. After a study trip to England, among other places, he came to the realization that reliable 40 mm autocannons could not be obtained from abroad, Bjurner managed to persuade the management of AB Bofors to adopt autocannon manufacturing in their production program. The Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration thus ordered a test cannon, the mechanism of which would be based on the Navy's well-proven semi-automatic block mechanism, and after extensive experiments, Bofors' gun designers succeeded in solving the ammunition loading and rammer problems. The result was the later world-famous Bofors 40 mm L/70 gun.

Bjurner captained HSwMS Dristigheten, {{HSwMS|Sverige}} from 1926 to 1927 and {{HSwMS|Oscar II}} on a trip to the Mediterranean between 1929 and 1930. Bjurner was promoted to captain in 1931, was head of Karlskrona Naval Yard from 1931 to 1936, and commanded the Winter Squadron (Vintereskadern) from 1933 to 1934. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1936 and was appointed Commanding Admiral and station commander in Karlskrona the same year. Bjurner was then commander of the South Coast Naval District from 1937 to 1938 when he was appointed head of the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration. Bjurner's time as head of the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration coincided with World War II and the turbulent time immediately before the outbreak of war. Intensive work was initiated to cover the shortcomings in the navy's mobilization equipment. New shipbuilding was forced, older ships were modernized and planned mobilization productions were initiated, etc.

Bjurner also had several public assignments during his career. He was chairman of the naval officers' association and the navy's representation fund in Karlskrona,{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemardet/1933/0091.html |title=Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1933 |trans-title=Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1933 |year=1932 |location=Stockholm |publisher=Norstedt |language=sv |page=91}} chairman of the Society for Swedish Culture Abroad's (Riksföreningen för svenskhetens bevarande i utlandet) local branch in Karlskrona from 1932 to 1938 and president of the Rotary Club in Karlskrona from 1936 to 1938.{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemardet/1943/0089.html |title=Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1943 |trans-title=Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1943 |year=1942 |location=Stockholm |publisher=Norstedt |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|10335454}} |page=89}} Furthermore, Bjurner was chairman of the Naval Pension Fund (Flottans pensionskassa) from 1936 to 1938, the Swedish Sailing School Association (Stiftelsen Svenska seglarskolan) in 1944 and member of the board of the Maritime Museum from 1939 to 1943. Bjurner resigned as head of the Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration prematurely in 1943{{cite journal |url=https://sjohistoriskasamfundet.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/fn40-lag.pdf |journal=Forum Navale: Skrifter |title=FÖRSVARET TILL SJÖSS: Studier i svensk sjöförsvarspolitik under mellankrigstiden och andra världskriget |first=Jan |last=Olofsson |year=1984 |publisher=Sjöhistoriska samfundet |location=Stockholm |number=40 |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|3615255}} |page=54}} and served as investigator at the Ministry of Defence regarding the naval materiel from 1943 to 1945. Bjurner also assisted General Olof Thörnell in compiling a history of Sweden's defense preparedness before and during World War II. Bjurner retired in 1947 was promoted to vice admiral on the retirement list the same year.

Personal life

In 1910, Bjurner married Elsa Schram (1888–1971), the daughter of Fredrik Schram and Alma Dillberg. They had one child: Gösta (born 1912).

Death

Bjurner died on 28 January 1964 in Stockholm. He was interred on 30 May 1964 at Galärvarvskyrkogården in Stockholm.{{cite web |url=http://svenskagravar.se/gravsatt/46037355 |website=www.svenskagravar.se |title=Bjurner, Knut Gunnar |access-date=15 April 2021 |language=sv}}

Dates of rank

1901 – Underlöjtnant
1903 – Sub-lieutenant
1910 – Lieutenant
1919 – Lieutenant commander
1923 – Commander
1931 – Captain
1936 – Rear admiral
1947 – Vice admiral

Awards and decorations

=Swedish=

50px {{flagicon|Sweden}} Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword (5 June 1943){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1955/1276.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 |year=1955 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Stockholm |language=sv |page=8}}
50px {{flagicon|Sweden}} Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Sword (6 June 1936){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1940bih/0011.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1940 |year=1940 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=11}}
50px {{flagicon|Sweden}} Knight 1st Class of the Order of the Sword (1922){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1931bih/0025.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1931 |year=1931 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=25}}
50px {{flagicon|Sweden}} Knight of the Order of the Polar Star (1926){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1955/1340.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 |year=1955 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Stockholm |language=sv |page=72}}
50px {{flagicon|Sweden}} Knight 1st Class of the Order of Vasa (1913){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1955/1424.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 |year=1955 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Stockholm |language=sv |page=156}}

=Foreign=

50px {{flagicon|Finland}} 1st Class of the Order of the Cross of Liberty with swords (between 1940 and 1942){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1940/0391.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för skottåret 1940 |year=1940 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=391}}{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1942/0402.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1942 |year=1942 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer|location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=402}}
50px {{flagicon|Italy|1861}} Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy (between 1940 and 1942)
50px {{flagicon|Greece|old}} Commander of the Order of the Phoenix (between 1925 and 1931){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1925/0335.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1925 |year=1925 |publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=328}}{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1931/0345.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1931 |year=1931 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=345}}
50px {{flagicon|France}} Officer of the Legion of Honour (between 1925 and 1931)
50px {{flagicon|Denmark}} Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog (between 1921 and 1925){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1925/0315.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för året 1925 |year=1925 |publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=308}}
50px {{flagicon|Prussia}} Knight 4th Class of the Order of the Red Eagle (between 1905 and 1909){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1905/0221.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för år 1905 |year=1904 |publisher=P.A. Nordstedt & Söner |location=Stockholm |language=sv |page=197}}{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/rikskal/1909/0319.html |title=Svensk rikskalender 1909 |year=1908 |publisher=P. A. Nordstedt & Söner |location=Stockholm |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|498191}} |page=235}}
50px {{flagicon|Russian Empire}} Knight 3rd Class of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (between 1909 and 1915){{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/statskal/1915/0291.html |title=Sveriges statskalender för år 1915 |year=1915 |publisher=Fritzes offentliga publikationer |location=Uppsala |language=sv |page=291}}
50px {{flagicon|Denmark}} King Christian X's Liberty Medal (before 1962)

Honours

Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1915; honorary member in 1936; president 1937–1938{{cite book |url=https://runeberg.org/vemvardet/0313.html |title=Vem var det?: biografier över bortgångna svenska män och kvinnor samt kronologisk förteckning över skilda ämbetens och tjänsters innehavare |trans-title=Who was it?: biographies of deceased Swedish men and women and chronological list of different office and services holders |year=1944 |publisher=Norstedt |location=Stockholm |language=sv |id={{SELIBR|8079633}} |page=313}})
Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1927)