Helge Strömbäck
Helge Strömbäck | |
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![]() Vice Admiral Helge Strömbäck at his resignation as Chief of the Navy in 1953. | |
Birth name | Helge Hjalmar Immanuel Strömbäck |
Born | Delsbo, Sweden | 26 July 1889
Died | 20 March 1960 Stockholm, Sweden | (aged 70)
Buried | Galärvarvskyrkogården, Stockholm |
Service/ | Swedish Navy |
Years of service | 1903–1953 |
Rank | Vice Admiral |
Commands held |
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Vice Admiral Helge Hjalmar Immanuel Strömbäck (26 July 1889 – 20 March 1960) was a Swedish Navy officer. He was the Chief of the Naval Staff from 1942 to 1945 and the Chief of the Navy from 1945 to 1953.
Career[]
Strömbäck was born on 26 July 1889 in Delsbo, Gävleborg County, Sweden, the son of vicar Hjalmar Strömbäck and his wife Ida (née Steinmetz). He became a sea cadet in 1903 and sub-lieutenant in the Swedish Navy in 1909.[1] Strömbäck conducted Russian language studies in Moscow from 1913 to 1914 and was promoted to lieutenant in 1918.[1] He attended the Royal Swedish Naval Staff College from 1918 to 1921 and was a teacher there and at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College. Strömbäck was secretary of the 1929 Defense Investigation and expert assistance in the 1930 Defence Commission.[2] Strömbäck was promoted to commander in 1933 and was head of department at the Naval Staff from 1933 to 1936.[1]
He was captain of the seaplane cruiser HSwMS Gotland in 1936 and then head of the Naval Operations Department in the Defence Staff from 1937 to 1939. Strömbäck was promoted to captain in 1939 and was flag captain of the Coastal Fleet from 1939 to 1941 and Chief of the Naval Staff from 1942 to 1945. He was promoted to rear admiral in 1943 and finally vice admiral in 1945.[1] Strömbäck was Chief of the Navy from 1945 to 1953.[2]
Personal life[]
In 1921, Strömbäck married Melanie Suchy (1892–1981). He was the father of Melanie (born 1922), Gudrun (born 1925) and Barbro (born 1927).[1] Strömbäck died in 1960 and was buried at Galärvarvskyrkogården in Stockholm.[3]
Dates of rank[]
- 28 October 1909 – Acting Sub-Lieutenant (Underlöjtnant)
- 31 October 1913 – Sub-lieutenant
- 6 December 1918 – Lieutenant
- 12 December 1933 – Lieutenant commander
- 1 April 1937 – Commander
- 1 April 1939 – Captain
- 1 October 1943 – Rear admiral
- 1 April 1945 – Vice admiral
Awards and decorations[]

Strömbäck's awards:[1]
Swedish[]
Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Sword
Knight of the Order of the Polar Star
Knight of the Order of Vasa
Foreign[]
Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (1 July 1947)[4]
Commander 1st Class of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
Commander 1st Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau with swords
Officer of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog
Knight of the Order of del Mérito Naval
Honours[]
- Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences (1939)[2]
- Honorary member of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences (1943)[2]
Bibliography[]
- Strömbäck, Helge (1936). Sverige och Östersjön: en försvarspolitisk studie [Sweden and the Baltic Sea: a defense policy study]. Marinlitteraturföreningen, 0348-2405 ; 40 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Fritzes bokförl.
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f Harnesk, Paul, ed. (1945). Vem är vem?. D. 1, Stockholmsdelen [Who is Who?. D. 1, Stockholm part] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Vem är vem bokförlag. p. 818.
- ^ a b c d Burling, Ingeborg, ed. (1956). Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1957 [Who is it: Swedish biographical handbook. 1957] (in Swedish). Stockholm: Norstedt. pp. 916–917.
- ^ "Galärvarvskyrkogården, kvarter B, gravnummer 16" (in Swedish). Hittagraven.se. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Tildelinger av ordener og medaljer" [Awards of medals and medals]. www.kongehuset.no (in Norwegian). Royal Court of Norway. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helge Strömbäck. |
- (in Swedish) Article in Svenskt biografiskt lexikon
- (in Swedish) Biography
- 1889 births
- 1960 deaths
- Swedish Navy vice admirals
- People from Hudiksvall Municipality
- Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences
- Members of the Royal Swedish Society of Naval Sciences
- Commanders First Class of the Order of the Sword
- Knights of the Order of the Polar Star
- Knights of the Order of Vasa
- Burials at Galärvarvskyrkogården