Wegmann, Rolph and Bo Widfeldt. Making for Sweden, part one: The Royal Air Force. Walton-on-Thames, Surrey: Air Research Publications, 1997

ISBN 1-871187-33-8
329 pages

Foreword; Acknowledgements; photos; References.

Appendices: British crew members of RAF aircraft crashed or landed in Sweden 1940-1945; Graves Registry by Cemetery

Yossarian's pal Orr made it to Sweden the hard way, paddling around Gibraltar, but thousands of airmen in World War II fact, not fiction, landed or crashed in Sweden or ditched in Swedish waters.

This unusual little gem recounts the details of all RAF aircraft and flyers who came down in the neutral Scandinavian nation.

Arranged chronologically, the incidents are covered in 275 case studies ranging from 11 June 1940 to 10 May 1945. Each case gives date, aircraft type and mark, serial number and markings (where known), squadron number, headquarters (Bomber Command, Coastal Command, etc). Each crew member is then listed with rank, name, crew position, nationality, and fate. Then follows a full description of the incident with text running from a single paragraph to several pages.

Case 6:
16 October 1940
Blackburn Skua Mk II, L2902
801 Sqn, Fleet Air Arm

Crew:
Lt	H. Hayes	P	FAA	INT
Lt	E. Graham	OBS/N	FAA	INT

On 13th October HMS Furious left Scapa Flow for the Norwegian waters again, this time to strike against Tromso. In the early hours of the 16th, the aircraft of 801 squadron were prepared for another sortie. At 0405 hours GMT+1 (B.S.T.) six Skuas from 801 Squadron flew off the deck to attack the harbour at Tromso. L2902 released its load, sometime after this the decision to head for Sweden was taken. The reason for this is not known, but several factors may have contributed to the decision; one being the difficulties in finding HMS Furious again.
   The aircraft crossed the Swedish border on a southerly course. Over the village of Malmberget the aircraft was fired at by Swedish anti-aircraft batteries (located there in defense of the mining facilities). This happened at 0856 hours GMT+1 and caused the crew to fire Verey-lights. The aircraft eventually ditched in Lake Vassaratrask near Gallivare. Taking to their dinghy, the crew reached the beach, where they were met by a Swedish Army patrol. After questioning, Lieutenant Hayes and Graham were sent by train to Framby for internment. They were released for repatriation in December.
   The Skua L2902 was salvaged and was put into storage at F4 Froson. It was kept there until the end of 1944, when it was decided to scrap the aircraft. As no British aircraft were taken back to the United Kingdom, they were disposed of in various fashions. L2902 ended up as a gunnery practice target for the Swedish Air Force J26 Mustangs at Brynaset on Ason island, which was first used in 1947. The first attack was made by the first Division (Flight) of the F4 Wing, 'David Rod'.

The various cases prove individually to be absorbing vignettes of internees (who are usually repatriated quickly), POWs (some crewmen come down within reach of the enemy), evaders, MIAs, and KIAs. Cumulatively, the cases paint an interesting picture of Sweden's evolving posture relative to Axis and Allies, and the skill and knowledge with which RAF flyers were able to take advantage of Swedish neutrality and the Geneva Convention to save themselves when all else failed.

An additional section discusses courier flights between Great Britain and Sweden (over a thousand in 1944 alone) and a final chapter describes policy and conditions of internment.

The internees received a per diem from the British Embassy via the camp administration and the total received was deducted from the accumulated pay in Britain on repatriation. The American aircrews were on the whole better off than the British internees as they were paid by the American embassy a per diem which was so liberal that this almost created an inflation problem in the area as they could afford lots of things unheard of by the local inhabitants. They became very popular with the girls and especially the shopkeepers.

The first appendix provides a complete roster of "British crew members of RAF aircraft crashed or landed in Sweden 1940-1945 (including those who were members of crews from which anyone escaped to Sweden or were found dead in Sweden.)" with name, rank, serial number, nationality, squadron, date, fate, notes, and case number. The second appendix lists particulars, by cemetery, for all RAF airmen buried in Sweden.

The authors took over twenty years to research all the material here, and their hard work has paid off with a terrific little book on an obscure topic.

Part two will cover USAAF arrivals in Sweden, but don't expect to find Orr -- or Yossarian himself -- within its pages.

Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Air Research.

Thanks to Air Research for providing this review copy.