Finest Aviation Book I Have Seen

I have previously been impressed by Mikael Forslund´s work, but his latest book, about the American, British, German, Italian and SAAB bombers in the Swedish Air Force 1924-58, is so stunning it is doubtless the finest aviation book I have yet come across. But there is one annoying thing about it.

This superbly illustrated 296 page aircraft book in A4 format has a title that I find a bit misleading: Swedish Bomber Colours 1924-1958. Given the narrow focus of the title and the rather high price of the book I reckon more than a few aviation buffs will wonder if this book is really worth the money. Well, the camouflage and markings of the aircraft in question are certainly covered in the best possible way both by spectacular photographs, several in colour, and many exclusive colour profiles. But the thing is that this book provides so much background and detailed history about the aircraft types and their use that it is more of a bomber aircraft encyclopedia than just a book about paint and markings. In other words the book delivers more than the title promises. Of course, that is better than the other way around, but it may also make some people refrain from getting this book. Now, hopefully some of you who have doubts are reading these words.  

Here are the aircraft types featured in this book, first I list the Swedish Air Force designation and then the international name:

B 1 - FIAT BR

B 2 - FIAT BR 1

B 3 - Junkers Ju 86

B 4 - Hawker Hart

B 5 - Norhrop 8A-1

B 6 - Republic 2-PA Guardsman

B 7 - Fokker G.1 (not delivered but still featured on one page)

B 16A - Caproni Ca 313

B 17 - SAAB 17

B 18 - SAAB 18

Let me add that all variants are featured. Then there are the wonderful sections about Swedish bombers in foreign service, mainly Danish SAAB B 17 bombers in 1945 and the SAAB B 17s in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian photos and interview are incredible and I was very surprised to learn that two former Ethiopian B 17As in 2020 were being restored in Lithuania, of all places.

If you are into building scale models of Swedish bomber aircraft and want to find good photos and colour profiles this book will be like Eldorado for you. But again, this book is much more than a book for scale model enthusiasts, it will delight any Swedish Air Force buff and it also constitutes a great source for researchers and writers. Well done, Mr. Forslund, very well done!

P-51 Mustang

The P-51 Mustang was first flown operationally not by the USAAF but by the Royal Air Force (RAF). This is reflected in this new book that should please both warbird buffs in general and especially modellers - here you will find sharp reviews of P-51 kits in all scales.

This book combines facts about the various Mustangs produced for the RAF and USAAF; text about how they performed (not least against the German Me 262); splendid b/w and color photos from WWII and the Korean War; superb color profiles; some photos of the plane in smaller air forces (including Sweden´s) plus a beautiful section about the plane in model form. 

The chosen photographs are excellent and I have to mention one in particular, of Major James H. Howard - seeing the photo of him and his plane marked for six victories over German aircraft and six victories over Japanese immediately inspired me to build his particular plane. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for a single-handed battle against over 30 enemy fighters.

Before opening this book I was just vaguely aware of the last Mustang, the Twin Mustang, basically two Mustang fuselages joined together. Weird design - I didn't think it had seen any service. But I was wrong, during the Korean War Twin Mustangs were among the first US aircraft to fight over Korea and they soon, as well as normal Mustangs, showed that they were not obsolete. In my mind the Korean War was a jet fighter war, so the book´s section about Mustangs over Korea held several surprises for me.

Of the book´s 96 large size pages, 37 are devoted to the Mustang in model form, starting with the Academy Mustangs in 1/72 scale and then covering the different 1/48 and 1/32 scale models by various manufacturers. I was surprised at the large number of different kits and appreciate very much how the authors describe the pros and cons of them. It is also in the model section that one finds two photos of Clarence "Bud" Anderson´s "Old Crow". Considering both his Swedish roots and ace status I plan to build  his plane in the near future and while doing so will no doubt have good use of this fine aircraft study produced by Robert Jackson and Lynn Ritger. "Bud" is still alive (!) and I hope he will soon be reading these words.

A GI in the Ardennes

A terrific cover for a book full of amazing photos and essays, not just about GIs.

As a collector of WWII books since the 1980s it takes quite a lot to stun me. But I am truly stunned by A GI in the Ardennes by Denis Hambucken. This book is so filled with brilliant essays about GIs, the Battle of the Bulge and relevant artifacts that I must immediately congratulate the author and his publishers.

Having read several Battle of the Bulge books, seen lots of documentaries and driven around in the Ardennes in an original WWII Jeep one comes to think of new questions about what the fighting there was like and how various practical matters were resolved. In Belgian author Denis Hambucken´s new (2020) book, first published in French in 2017, so many of these questions are answered in 109 short but brilliant essays on subjects such as the draft, the GI uniform, dog tags, individual and squad weapons, a solder´s pay, field rations, "battle fatigue", V-mail and German trophies. I find myself especially impressed with the sections about the M1928 haversack, "Axis Sally", German mines and Christmas in the Ardennes.

What makes this book so outstanding is that combines excellent photographs of original artifacts (many types I have never seen before) with testimonies of veterans and Belgian civilians. You might think that the author is uncritical of the GIs, considering his deep passion for their artifacts. Well, there are actually several passages that are critical, moving and surprising.

Briefly put, I would say that Denis Hambucken has set a new standard for WWII books. The Ardennes aside, this is one of the best WWII books I have ever come across.

Stunning Scale Models & Dioramas

Here focus on super detailed 1:32 aircraft, e.g. the B-25J Mitchell on the cover.

Few people find the time to spend hundreds of hours on a single scale model. The results can be simply stunning. They certainly are in the books from the Swedish publisher Canfora, and that is why I recently payed them a visit.

Finding little time to myself build scale models, I have come to the conclusion that what I mainly long for is being able to see really good models up close. I mean, REALLY close and in superb photos. Therefore I visited Toni Canfora in Stockholm to discuss his own models and his books - that contain both his finished models and those of many other "model artists" as I would like to call them. On top of the superb photos in all his books Toni Canfora has added really interesting historical facts and model information as well as good captions (IMHO really good books must have really good captions). The main focus of Canfora is scale models and dioramas, but they have other kinds of books too. But first let me show you two more scale model book covers:

What most of all appeals to me with the Canfora scale model books is that some contain dioramas based on actual photographs, like the StuG book above. To me, that sort of diorama is the most amazing to see, the experience can be both like experiencing art and history.

In addition to the now quite many books on scale modeling, Canfora also offer books focused on large & previously mostly unpublished photographs of actual AFVs and aircraft. Mostly taken during WWII. Let me just say how very much I have been surprised by the three AFV Photo Album books about Panther tanks and other AFVs in Czechoslovakia. This is the latest volume, vol 3.

I had never thought that so many previously unpublished amazing Panther photos would appear. Like the scale model books, the AFV books have captions full of information, pointing out lots of details in the photos that one would otherwise miss. Now, do check out all the amazing books from Canfora.

Swedes Who Fought On D-Day

Personal items from Swedes who fought on D-Day are now on display.

Swedes who fought in Normandy 1944 are for the first time in focus in a museum. Hundreds of Swedes took part in the Allied Normandy operation, mostly at sea. But the Swedish Air Force Museum has of course chosen to focus on Swedes in D-Day aircraft.

It is one thing to read about the only air ace born in Sweden, William Yngve Anderson from Kramfors (see my recent book about him and other Swedes in US WWII service), but it is really something to watch his first air victories, recorded by his Mustang´s automatic camera. Now you can see this footage yourself at the Swedish Air Force Museum, and then see some of his own pilot gear, exhibited thanks to his daughter Gina.

William Yngve Anderson´s flight helmet and goggles, then and now.

The first thing you see when you this summer enter the Swedish Air Force Museum is actually their exhibition about D-Day, and perhaps first of all you will notice a Jeep from one of the Normandy-Swedes, Gösta Wollin from Ystad. Wollin was as a Swedish civilian in Norway while Hitler invaded. Because of that experience and some previous ones acquired in Germany itself, he joined the US 82nd Airborne Division, and jumped with them, actually without parachute training, over Sainte-Mère-Église. During many years his US Army Jeep, that he had legally purchased in 1945, was painted white and used as an offroad toy. Thanks to the Jeep enthusiast Mikael Stenberg the vehicle has been restored and this summer you can see it up close, together with an 82nd airborne paratrooper, at the Swedish Air Force Museum.

Beside Gösta Wollin´s Jeep stands a paratrooper looking like Wollin did on D-Day.

Erik G:son Lewenhaupt MC and Bar from Stockholm was one of the very first men to be dropped from a British aircraft on D-Day, as he was one of the pathfinders leading the British airborne assault. In spite of being a 38 year old Swedish citizen he had been allowed to join the British airborne and was on D-Day an airborne captain (and 40 years old). His exhibited items tell something about the battles that he survived. You will notice his weapons for close quarters combat; a German flag he captured and his Military Cross (he was awarded it twice, thus the MC and Bar). Also his Pegasus-marked jump helmet is on display, and the wrist watch he wore in Normandy. All thanks to his grandson Carl. Click on the photos to watch them in larger size (this goes for all photos on my blogs).

Lewenhaupt´s medals from Finland and Norway 1940, D-Day and other actions.

Hundreds of Swedes took part in D-Day in US, British, Canadian and Polish service. At least one of them was killed in action on D-Day itself, and several were killed some days later. For more about the Swedes in British, Polish, German etc service see Lennart Westberg´s and yours truly´s book Swedes at War (available on Amazon, Adlibris etc). Finally, a cordial THANK YOU to the Swedish Air Force Museum´s Torsten Nilsson and his colleagues, for making this exhibition. It ends on 25 August 2019.

The Great Escape – New Nordic Details

This new book about the 1944 prison break by 76 men has some wonderful details.

You perhaps remember from the classic 1963 movie "The Great Escape" (with Steve McQueen) how only three escapees made it to safety - meaning Sweden in two cases. There is now a terrific new book about this most famous escape, with some more Nordic detail.

75 years ago, in March 1944, 76 prisoners of war from different Allied units crawled their way to freedom. The 77th man was spotted by one of the German camp guards. The True Story of the Great Escape by Jonathan F. Vance is a must for people like me, who have always appreciated books about escapes. It is also clear how this book is the result of a lifelong personal interest, and I just love how it starts with the author´s childhood memories of learning about the great escape, contacting veterans and their kind responses to him, a stranger. I have the same experience – all but two or three of the WWII veterans I have contacted over the years have been very helpful and a privilege to get to know.

Going back to the film that has inspired both Mr. Vance and myself, the escape of “Danny” and “Willie” in the movie is based on two Norwegians who escaped by boat to Sweden. Their real names were Per Bergsland and Jens Müller and they were both Norwegian pilots. Now, being Swedish and partly Norwegian, I thought that the final leg of their indeed perfect escape could have been shown some more in the film. Well, I am grateful that the new book has informed me about many nice little escapee details from both the war years and afterwards, and one piece of postwar info about Per Bergsland I feel obliged to share here. Bergsland ended his flight career by becoming CEO of the Norwegian airline Widerøe, the largest regional airline operating in the Nordic countries. So, if you ever fly with Widerøe you can ponder how your flight is connected to one of the best escapees ever.

Read this book both for inspiration and the reading pleasure. The full title of the new book is: The True Story of the Great Escape: Stalag Luft III, March 1944.

1,500+ Swedish Citizens Became US Soldiers 1941-45

Items from Swedes in US units and Sweden-born fighter ace William Y. Anderson.

Well over 1,500 Swedish citizens became soldiers of the US Army during World War Two. This fact was unknown in Sweden until a few weeks ago. Nor was it previously known that more than 4,000 US soldiers had been born in Sweden.

Previously, Swedish researchers, such as Lennart Westberg and myself (authors of Swedes at War), have had no clear picture of how many from Sweden joined the US Army in 1941-45. Having met or corresponded with several US Army Swedes, I decided to write a book specifically about them. Well, some weeks ago, thanks to my publisher in Stockholm, Lind & Co, I could present the result: Svenskar i strid mot Hitler i.e. Swedes In Combat vs. Hitler. Here follows the text on the back cover in my translation (the above photo is the image on the back cover):

After the outbreak of World War Two, Anders Kullander from Gothenburg [in Swedish: Göteborg] went to America and became a soldier in the US Army. He landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy and took part in bloody battles on his way to Berlin, where he reached Hitler´s bunker and was photographed by the spot where the dictator´s corpse was burnt.

Kullander was only one of many Swedes who in US service were in combat against Hitler´s forces. Some Swedes were part of elite units and many served with great success – on the ground, in the air and on the oceans – in Europe, Africa and against Hitler's ally in Asia.

The Swedes who fought in the ranks of the Waffen-SS have received a lot of attention. Time to look at the many more Swedes on the other side, in a book with many previously unpublished photographs.

Speaking of the Swedes in the Waffen-SS, they were about 180, and in the Wehrmacht there were an additional 20 Swedes. Thus: 200 Swedes in German uniform. Aside from Swedes in US and German units there were also Swedes in the Finnish, Norwegian and British Armed Forces as well as in the French Foreign Legion and Soviet Red Army (for an overview of all these plus Swedish volunteers in WWI and the Spanish Civil War, see Swedes at War).

My new book does not portray in detail all the 4,000+ men and women born in Sweden who joined various US units. That would have required several more years of work and presenting the results would demand many volumes. But what about their motives, were they not “just” in US uniform because they had emigrated from Sweden? Well, as my book shows, not all were emigrants, many were Swedish sailors. In addition there were those many, many soldiers who had been born in the United States but who nevertheless were called Swedes because of their Swedish parents, grandparents etc. Well, in my new book I portray a dozen of the many thousand more or less Swedish men and women in US uniforms, with all their military details and photographs. It has so far sold really well in Swedish, hopefully it can be translated in the not too distant future.

Casablanca of the North

On the cover: a USAAF + OSS marriage in Stockholm. Cover design: Jason Orr.

Liberty Lady is a highly personal yet also credible and important history of both US airmen and the men and women of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in Sweden during WWII.

The book title was natural, as it was also the name of the author´s father´s B-17 Flying Fortress, that crashed on the Swedish island of Gotland. The author, Pat DiGeorge, would simply not be around, had ”Liberty Lady” not landed safely in Sweden. One of the men aboard, Herman Allen, became one of the 1,218 (!) USAAF crew members interned in Sweden. These Americans are part of my own book Germans & Allies in Sweden. But Pat DiGeorge provides so much more colour and detail to their lives. For example she relates that the jitterbug was introduced to Sweden by a group of American aviators. As DiGeorge correctly states, ”The German internees were never given the freedom allowed to the British and the Americans.”

When Herman met «Hedy», a Swedish-American lady working for the OSS in Stockholm, he found the love of his life and among their children is Pat DiGeorge. Her book provides an amazing insight into the rich lives of both Herman and Hedvig «Hedy» Johnson Allen. On the road from their cradles to their graves one also gets fascinating peeks into the lives of personalities like Count Folke Bernadotte, highest responsible for all interned airmen in Sweden, and Arctic aviation pioneer Colonel Bernt Balchen, who like Herman Allen had one leg in the USAAF and one in the OSS.

Swedes of course also are a big part of Liberty Lady, and not only pro-Allied ones. It is amazing to follow the strange friendship between Herman and one of the Swedes who worked for the Germans.

It is pretty amazing that so few previous books in English have focused on wartime Stockholm, thick with espionage. German and Allied spies not seldom stayed in the same Stockholm hotels and sometimes ate side by side in the restaurants. As DiGeorge writes, the WWII American embassy in Stockholm ”sat at the centre of one of the most important listening posts of the war”. Liberty Lady solves several puzzles, providing valuable insights not only into the OSS in Stockholm but also the wartime visit by USAAF General Curtis.

DiGeorge´s book is also about the B-17 «Liberty Lady» aircraft itself, it is fascinating to read and see how parts of it to this day remain «all over the island of Gotland». Now a personal revelation, I have a rather strange family connection to the place where «Liberty Lady» went down, Mästermyr on Gotland. You see, I inherited a photograph from a relative of mine who was at Mästermyr. The photograph depicts a bomber that he himself photographed. But it is not a B-17, but a German Heinkel He 111. Yes, Mästermyr was the place where a He 111 went down in 1940, after having been hit by Swedish anti-aircraft fire. My photo of the He 111 on Mästermyr is in my book Germans & Allies in Sweden.

Finally, it was great to learn from Liberty Lady that Pat DiGeorge too had the privilege of working with the late Swedish-American historian Carl Finstrom.

In short, Liberty Lady is THE English language book about espionage and love in WWII Sweden, especially in Stockholm, the Casablanca of the north.

D-Day Swedes Forgotten in Sweden

Swedish volunteer paratrooper Gösta Wollin was one of the very first to drop over Normandy, some minutes before it was actually D-Day. PHOTO: Karin Wollin

This Friday will be the last D-Day anniversary with a fairly large number of veterans taking part. In 2024 there may still be some veterans around, but very few fit enough to be in Normandy. It made me rather sad in 2004 that our own D-Day veterans got no media attention. Will 2014 be better?

Yes, Sweden too has D-Day participants to remember. I am not talking about Americans of Swedish descent now, but men born in Sweden and who actively were a part of D-Day. But how is that possible considering that Sweden did not fight as a nation in WWII? Well, it is all explained in Swedes at War but to summarize, hundreds took part as seamen in the D-Day invasion fleet under various flags. In addition, there were men born in Sweden serving in various Allied combat units that were landed on the now world famous landing beaches or, landed by parachute or took part in D-Day as fighter or bomber pilots. How many we can still only guess, a hundred seems very plausible. If one limits oneself to those who in 1944 were still Swedish citizens, then the figure may be just a dozen, but on the other hand some more Swedish citizens arrived in Normandy in the days following D-Day.

How many Swedes were there on the other, German, side in Normandy? We have identified three, in three different divisions of the Waffen-SS. Although few they too are described in our book.

I had the great fortune to find and communicate with the probably very first volunteer from Sweden to arrive with the Allies in Normandy, Gösta Wollin from Ystad in Skåne (in southernmost Sweden). He is pictured above in his US airborne cap. Against all odds he was able to join the US 82nd Airborne Division and parachuted with them over Sainte-Mère-Église on June 5, 1944.

If one broadens the definition of Swede to all those that were called "Swede" because of their name and roots, well then several thousand such Swedes were landed in Normandy. One of them you have probably some knowledge of. If you have seen the movie "Saving Private Ryan" you remember the role played by Tom Hanks, right? He portrays the commander of Charlie Company of the 2nd Rangers. Well, in real life that commander´s name was not John Miller, as Tom Hanks is called in the famous movie, but Ralph Goranson. He was the son of a Swede who left Mönsterås in Småland to start a new life in the US of A, his mother was from Norway. I had the privelege of being in touch with Ralph Goranson by mail during his final years. Our book Swedes at War made the fact of Ralph Goranson´s important contribution on D-Day known in the Swedish language and a local paper in Småland followed up on our book´s words about him, but no national Swedish newspaper has yet done so, not even when he died in 2012.

It was similar with William Yngve Anderson from Kramfors. He took part in D-Day as a P-51 Mustang pilot - see the book cover in the above right corner. All his planes were painted with "Swede´s Steed". My co-author and I were first to document in a book that he was Sweden´s only flying ace - but he has so far never been mentioned in any Swedish nationwide newspaper.

But it is of course not too late to show these men respect and it is therefore with great joy that I can report that 69 former Swedish parachute rangers trained at FJS in Karlsborg, 23 to 72 years old, will be paying tribute to the paratroopers of D-Day by jumping this Friday over Normandy. It will also be the largest ever drop abroad of FJS-trained Swedes. It is a most suitable tribute because one of the founders of FJS was Erik Lewenhaupt from Stockholm, who parachuted over Normandy on June 6, 1944. So, thanks to the commemorative jump on Friday, I reckon at least Erik Lewenhaupt will get some recognition in our media.

Another thing that made me happy the other day is the news that Swedes at War is now available not just as a large paperback in Swedish and English but also on Kindle, in English only so far, both in the US, in the UK and also as an ePUB via iTunes.

P.S.
Note that the above figures about Swedish citizens on the Allied/German sides relate to Normandy on D-Day. The total figures for all areas of operations 1939-45 are more than 1,000 Swedes in various ground, naval and air units on the Allied side (above all Norwegian units) and 8,000 in the Norwegian, British etc Merchant Marine - in comparison with 200 Swedes in different German units. There were also Swedes on tankers in the Baltic supporting the German Navy but these sailors (about 500) were not in the German Navy or Merchant Navy but on chartered Swedish ships.

A Stunning Christmas Story From WWII

This is quite simply one of the most unusual stories to come from WWII and I saw it for the first time only today.

Of course, Sweden is mentioned too... there is always a Swedish connection! And with this peaceful and inspiring story from WWII I wish all my readers GOD JUL! as we say in Sweden i.e. Merry Christmas!

Saved From The Flea Market

War medal of Norwegian "police trooper" saved from flea market.

One of the weirdest aspects of WWII and Sweden is that the many thousand Norwegian soldiers that were trained in Sweden starting in 1943 are almost forgotten. Recently a remainder of them surfaced in a flea market.

It was my friend and coauthor Karl-Gunnar Norén who rescued the above medal and diploma once awarded to Norwegian "police trooper" Ernst Tönning. The set have now been donated by Karl-Gunnar to the Defence Museum in Boden, as that museum i.a. deals with the thousands of "police troops" that passed through or were stationed in northernmost Sweden, where Boden is situated.

I have written about the so-called Norwegian "police troops" in Sweden most recently in my book Germans and Allies in Sweden.

Just recently, a 1945-made documentary about the 46,000 Norwegians that fled to Sweden was released on the web. The second half of it is largely about the "police troops" and even has some dramatic scenes. Note that at the time there was no stigma attached to using letters in viking rune style, even the S-rune in the same style as the S in SS. In fact, the Norwegian armed forces in exile used the viking theme quite frequently. Only after the war did viking runes become instantly associated with the Germans and the SS.

Also now on the web is a the only known film showing the ten C-47 Dakota aircraft that transported the police troops from Sweden to northernmost Norway. The film is mainly not about the aircraft but about the US and Swedish effort to save Soviet and Yugoslav ex-prisoners of war in Arctic Norway just after the war. But nevertheless you see the aircraft and some USAAF crew quite well, starting at the their base on the Kallax Peninsula just outside Luleå in north Sweden. The USAAF officer saluting in the beginning is the Norwegian-born colonel and aviation pioneer Bernt Balchen. Sadly, this film has no sound.

Narvik Military History Bookstore Update

Now in central Narvik, lots of military history books. Both new and old.

Some really rare old books, in several languages, are now for sale in Narvik.

It is with great pleasure that I now can announce that my friend Trond Kristansen in Narvik has moved his military history bookshop to central Narvik, to Kongens gate number 22.

Of course, the bookstore has extra many books about WWII in Narvik and the north in general. Congratulations and best wishes from Arctic Sweden! All you have to do now, Trond, is make a short English summary on the shop´s website.

WWII Japanese Flags in Sweden

I wonder if this sushi restaurant in Sweden raises an American or Chinese eyebrow?

I recently noticed the above pictured sushi restaurant in Piteå, up here in northernmost Sweden. As you can see it prominently displays the WWII flag of the Japanese Army and the almost identical flag of the Japanese Navy. I wonder if these could be used the same way in the US or China?

I only feel sure that the German equivalent, the Reichskriegsflagge, would not be possible to display in the same manner. In any country.

Please note that I know that the above Japanese Navy flag is not limited to WWII, it came back in use after the war and thus cannot be said to only symbolize Japan during WWII. However, the pictured Japanese Army flag, which is the top one, was used only until 1945.

Well, could a sushi restaurant in the US or China use these flags without attracting criticism?

Speaking about WWII Japan in Sweden I believe that until this year very little, if anything, has been written about the 1942 "Battle of Los Angeles", which was basically mass hysteria in action - only one enemy was real, a Japanese submarine. IMHO the first book in Swedish to describe this weird battle in detail is the anthology Kriget som aldrig kom ("The War That Never Came"), published this spring by the superb Naval Museum of Karlskrona. Some weeks ago another book appeared that mentions the "battle", simply entitled Swede. I recently blogged about it.

Speaking about the battle of LA I reckon most of you who are reading this post have seen the 1979 war movie "1941", which in spite of the wrong year is based on the hysterical 1942 events in LA. Well, even if you know that movie well I reckon you may not have seen this period teaser for the film:



Finally, just today, thanks to a friend in Slovenia (hat tip!) I found this stunning image (the bottom one) I had never seen before, of the Japanese officer who only surrendered in 1974, Hiroo Onoda. Evidently, he is still alive and is now 89 years old.

Aviator of Disney Fame in Sweden

Victory Through Airpower Trailer 1943

One of the things I was most amazed about to discover when researching for Germans and Allies in Sweden was that one of the most influential personalities of the USAAF visited Sweden both before and during WWII. His name was Alexander de Seversky.

In my book I mention Seversky's bestselling book and the Disney film with the same name, Victory Through Airpower. Well, above is a 1943 trailer promoting both his book and film.

The Mysterious Pilot in Älvsbyn

This large-scale model of a "Mystery Ship" is exhibited in the Petrol Museum of Älvsbyn in Swedish Lapland.

One of the most motor nostalgia-filled museums I've ever seen is the Petrol Museum (in Swedish: Bensinmuseum) of Älvsbyn. The museum is small but well worth the visit if you are in northernmost Sweden. Military items are very few but there is a great model of a plane flown by Frank Hawks.

Hawks, famous from the movie serial "The Mysterious Pilot", was a WWI aviator who started breaking air records. In my opinion his "Mystery Ship" aircraft also known as "Texaco 13" is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built. So, just to be able to see the large-scale (I reckon scale 1:10) model of his plane was a treat in itself.

The Petrol Museum of Älvsbyn has thousands of items related to old gas stations, I reckon most are from the 1930s to 1960s. Aside from these smaller items I also greatly appreciated the car wrecks outside, here are two of them:

Swedish Air Force Salutes Ace

Roundel of the Swedish Air Force (low visibility version).

The highest representative of the Swedish Air Force, Major General Anders Silwer, today published this text about the only fighter ace from Sweden, William Yngve Anderson, written by yours truly, ending with the following words of his own (in my translation): "We Swedish aviators give a final salute to our colleague William Anderson".

Sweden´s Only Fighter Ace Dies At 89

William Yngve Anderson, born in Swedish Kramfors in 1921, became 89 years old. Each swastika on his P-51 Mustang denotes one official air victory.

The first pilot to successfully shoot down a German V-1 flying bomb was William Y. Anderson, according to the front page of the Chicago Tribune on June 20th, 1944. This claim may well be correct as the V-1 had entered service only on June 12. Anderson shot down at least one V-1 over France on June 17.

In addition Anderson shot down at least seven manned German aircraft. To become an ace only five were needed. On all three P-51 Mustangs that were entrusted to him, Anderson wrote in large letters "Swede´s Steed".

The night between this Monday and Tuesday Mr. Anderson, i.a. decorated personally by Eisenhower, died in his Crystal Lake home close to Chicago, at 89 years of age. In a few weeks he would have turned 90.

Anderson is featured in the US Aviation Hall of Fame as well at the Fighter Aces Hall of Fame. A handful of Swedish pilots in Finnish service during the Winter War shot down 1-3 aircraft each, but none reached the ace stage of five confirmed victories. Thus Mr. Anderson is the most successful fighter pilot from Sweden.

Strangely, in his native Sweden his feats were unknown until a few years ago, when finally he entered Swedish cyberspace and in 2010 became known through our book Swedes at War. He is on the front cover of the book.

Anderson flew 126 combat missions. Among his many medals is a French Croix de Guerre (War Cross) and a Silver Star that Eisenhower himself pinned on his uniform.

With his lovely wife Lois (with roots in Gothenburg) he had a large family. At his death he could count three children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

During my contacts with Mr. and Mrs. Anderson I perceived Mr. Anderson as an unusually warm and cheerful man. Indeed, as one of his grandchildren wrote to me some hours after his death: "He was brilliant for aviation but even more amazing with his family".

William Yngve Anderson´s official obituary in English was published some hours ago.

Germans & Allies in Sweden

New photos and documents show that Sweden had a higher presence of German AND Allied soldiers than previously known.

The first series of photographs from the most hotly debated WWII incident in Sweden, the transition of a German division through Sweden in 1941. The shooting down of foreign aircraft by the Swedish armed forces - ten German aircraft shot down in 1940 alone. New details and photos of US and British bases in Sweden 1943-45.

These are just some of the ingredients in my new book, Germans and Allies in Sweden. Other highlights are secret prewar weapon projects between Sweden, Germany and the Soviet Union, the truth behind Swedish police reports of SS-werewolves on the Swedish border and something of a U-boat-scoop: Sweden in 1932 trained German submarine officers, of which at least one later sank a Swedish ship - a hitherto unknown example of naval blowback...

As indicated from the cover the book is today only available in Swedish. Here is the official book presentation in Swedish.

USAAF in Sweden Book

A B-17 Flying Fortress at Rotterdam Airport Airshow, May 1985. PHOTO: Jan Arkesteijn

I just recently became aware of one of the most amazing websites I have ever seen re. Sweden in WWII. The site belongs to Patricia Allen DiGeorge, the daughter of two US diplomats in Stockholm during WWII.

Mrs. Allen DiGeorge´s father flew as a B-17 bombardier in the 8th Air Force and had to force land on the Swedish island of Gotland in early 1944. He was interned by the Swedish Armed Forces but shortly thereafter could go to work at the American embassy in Stockholm for the American Air Attaché, taking care of the needs of the US internees. At the embassy he also worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) with counterespionage against the Germans in Stockholm, working alongside his future wife.

As Mrs. Allen DiGeorge describes on her website, Stockholm became one of the world´s most important towns for espionage during WWII.

So, by all means, explore Mrs. Allen DiGeorge´s site and help her in solving some puzzles so that she may finish her book project.

"The Battle for Arctic Europe"

A couple of years ago I was notified that a Polish publishing house wanted to translate Slaget om Nordkalotten which translates as "The Battle for Arctic Europe". I just learnt it will be out in the shops in Poland on Tuesday.

Here is the cover of the Polish translation:

The cover photos feature: OSS NORSO paratroopers bound for Norway; a OSS "Sepals" base in Sweden; the interior of a British Hurricane found on the Russian Kola Peninsula and Soviet soldiers together with a RAF pilot from New Zealand, also on Kola.

I wrote this book together with James F. Gebhardt in the 1990s. It was published the first time in 1999 by Historiska Media. It has sold something like 40,000 copies all editions included.

I learnt about the intention of the Polish company Bellona to publish our book. But this was something like two years ago. Poland was hit badly by the global financial crisis and virtually all publishing plans in Poland were affected, i.e. put on hold or terminated. There was a deal but nothing happened, and I started thinking there would be no Polish version.

Well, it was a pleasure to today learn that after all it will be available in Polish, starting on Tuesday, February 8, 2011.

The title Europa Pólnocna 1939-1945 means "Northern Europe 1939-1945". This may seem a bit strange but it is evidently published in a series called "Wars and Campaigns" and I reckon each book will cover one geographical area. The book is focused on WWII above the Arctic Circle, i.e. in Arctic Europe, but as the book at least gives a rough idea of the fighting also in southern Norway and Finland I suppose the Polish title is OK.

Here is the Polish publisher´s page about the book.

There is more about Poland and Poles in Swedes at War, not least about the amazing Swedish-born Polish Habsburg Princess who became a Polish partisan in early 1940. So I hope that book too will eventually appear in Polish.