Torsten Rapp

General Bo Torsten Rapp (20 April 1905 – 23 March 1993) was a Swedish Air Force officer. As the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces from 1961 to 1970, he was the first Supreme Commander who did not come from the Swedish Army.

Torsten Rapp
Born	(1905-04-20)20 April 1905 Stockholm, Sweden
Died	23 March 1993(1993-03-23) (aged 87) Stockholm, Sweden
Allegiance	Sweden
Service/branch	Swedish Navy (1923–30) Swedish Army (1930–70)
Years of service	1923–1970
Rank	General
Commands held	Blekinge Air Force Wing Vice Chief of the Air Staff Fourth Air Group Third Air Group Chief of the Air Force Supreme Commander

Career

Rapp was born on 20 April 1905 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of Johan David Rapp, a wholesaler, and his wife Eva Hedvig Gustava (née Swartz). He passed studentexamen at Saltsjöbadens samskola in the spring of 1923 and became a sea cadet on 29 June 1923. Rapp took a naval officer exam on 5 October 1926 and became an acting sub-lieutenant (fänrik) in the Swedish Navy on 7 October 1926. He became a lieutenant there on 6 October 1928 and was then commanded to the Swedish Air Force on 1 November 1928. There Rapp became a lieutenant on 1 July 1930, and he then underwent the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College's general course from 1932 to 1933 and its staff course from 1934 to 1935.[1]

He served at the Organization Department of the Air Staff from 1 June 1935 to 1938 and became a captain in the Swedish Air Force on 30 June 1937. Rapp became a member of the board for the Defence Forces Central Civilian Employee Office (Försvarsväsendets centrala civilanställningsbyrå) on 1 January 1938 and division commander of the F 2 Hägernäs in 1938. He was acting head of the Organization Department of the Air Staff in 1941 and became head on 1 July 1943. Rapp was a member of the 1942 Reserve Officer Experts (1942 års reservbefälssakkunniga) from June to November 1942 and he became a major in the Swedish Air Force on 1 July 1942 and a lieutenant colonel on 1 April 1944.[1]

He became commanding officer of Blekinge Air Force Wing (F 17) on 23 June 1944 and was promoted to colonel on 1 July 1947. Rapp became Vice Chief of the Air Staff on 1 October 1948 and was a member of the Swedish Armed Forces School Study from June 1950 to March 1952. He was a member of the board of the Swedish Officers Association on 25 November 1950 and became commanding officer of the Fourth Air Group (Fjärde flygeskadern, E 4) on 1 April 1951. Rapp became commander of the Third Air Group (Tredje flygeskadern, E 3) on 1 July 1954 and was promoted to major general on 1 October 1955. He became acting head of the Aircraft Department of the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration on 1 July 1956 and became a member of the board of the National Aeronautical Research Institute in 1957.[1]

Rapp was appointed Vice Chief of the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration and became a member of the board of the Swedish National Defence Research Institute on 1 October 1957. He was promoted to lieutenant general and became Chief of the Air Force on 15 January (took office 1 July) 1960. He was promoted to general and was Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces from 10 March (took office 1 October) 1961.[1] During his time on the post, major changes were made to the Swedish defense, including a enhanced coordination between the army, the air force and the navy. The reorganization also meant that the Supreme Commander was given greater responsibility.[2] Rapp left the post on 30 September 1970 and he was then general in the Swedish Air Force reserve from 1 October 1970 to 1981.[1]

Personal life

Rapp married on 30 September 1933 in Stockholm with Ulla Gerda Maria Willers (born 29 January 1908 in Stockholm), the daughter of first secretary of the Royal Railway Board Johan Harald Hjalmar Willers and Agnes Lindberg.[1] He was the father of Wilhelm (born 1935), Lennart (born 1937) and Marianne (born 1944).[3]

Military career

Torsten Rapp, 1960s.

In 1923 Rapp joined the Swedish Navy as a sea cadet

• 1926-1928 Acting Sub-Lieutenant Swedish Navy
• 1928-1930 Lieutenant Swedish Navy
• 1930-1937 Lieutenant Swedish Air Force
• 1937-1942 Captain Swedish Air Force
• 1942-1943 Major Swedish Air Force
• 1944-1947 Lieutenant Colonel, Wing commander Blekinge Air Force Wing
• 1947-1948 Colonel, Wing commander Blekinge Air Force Wing
• 1948-1951 Vice Chief of the Air Staff
• 1951-1954 Commander of Fourth Air Group (Fjärde flygeskadern, E 4)
• 1954-1956 Major General, Commander of Third Air Group (Tredje flygeskadern, E 3)
• 1957-1960 Vice Chief of the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration
• 1960-1961 Lieutenant General, Chief of the Air Force
• 1961-1970 General, Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces

Awards and decorations

Swedish

• Knight and Commander of the Orders of His Majesty (16 November 1970)[1]
• Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword[4]
• Commander First Class of the Order of the Sword (5 June 1954)[5]
• Knight of the Order of the Sword (1943)[6]
• Knight of the Order of the Polar Star (1951)[4]
• Knight of the Order of Vasa (1945)[4]
• National Federation of Swedish Women’s Auxiliary Defence Services' silver medal (Riksförbundet Sveriges lottakårers silvermedalj)
• Swedish Navy Medal Torpedo Firing Medal (Marinens medalj för skjutning med torped, TorpM)

Foreign

• First Class Commander of the Order of the White Rose of Finland[3]
• Commander First Class of Order of Homayoun[3]
• Commander of the Legion of Merit (12 April 1965)[7][8]
• King Christian X's Liberty Medal[3]

Honours

• Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1959)[1]
• Member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1962)[1]

Bibliography

• Rapp, Torsten (1960). Luftkrigföringens vapensystem: fakta och reflexioner kring utveckling och ledning : årsberättelse av föredraganden i luftkrigsvetenskap (avd III) [Aerial warfare weapon systems: facts and reflections on the development and management: annual report of the rapporteur of the aerial warfare studies (Section III)] (in Swedish). Linköping. SELIBR 12032902.

References

1. Norén, Stig (1995–1997). "B Torsten Rapp". Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (in Swedish). 29. National Archives of Sweden. p. 675. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
2. Nordh, Emelie (11 September 2015). "Kärnvapen och enveckasförsvar – här är Sveriges tidigare ÖB". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2018.
3. Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1962). Vem är vem? 1, Stor-Stockholm [Who is who? 1, Greater Stockholm] (in Swedish) (2nd ed.). Stockholm: Vem är vem. p. 1077.
4. Sveriges statskalender. 1963 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1963. p. 96.
5. Sveriges statskalender för året 1955 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1955. p. 11.
6. Sveriges statskalender för året 1945 (in Swedish). Uppsala: Fritzes offentliga publikationer. 1945. p. 36.
7. "Skott på Rapp". Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning (in Swedish). 14 April 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
8. "Den neutrale". Arbetar-Tidningen (in Swedish). 1965-04-23. p. 2. Retrieved 15 May 2020.

Military offices
Preceded by None	Blekinge Air Force Wing 1944–1948	Succeeded by Hugo Svenow
Preceded by Karl Silfverberg	Vice Chief of the Air Staff 1948–1951	Succeeded by Greger Falk
Preceded by Birger Schyberg	Chief of the Air Force 1951–1954	Succeeded by Ingvar Berg
Preceded by Axel Ljungdahl	Third Air Group 1954–1956	Succeeded by Lage Thunberg
Preceded by Bengt Jacobsson	Vice Chief of the Royal Swedish Air Force Materiel Administration 1954–1956	Succeeded by Lage Thunberg
Preceded by Axel Ljungdahl	Chief of the Air Force 1957–1960	Succeeded by Lage Thunberg
Preceded by Nils Swedlund	Supreme Commander 1961–1970	Succeeded by Stig Synnergren