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Finn Lambrechts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lieutenant General Finn Lambrechts (1955)
Lambrechts (second from the left) with fellow No. 333 Squadron RAF personnel

Finn Lambrechts DFC (16 June 1900 – 8 December 1956) was a Norwegian military officer, a lieutenant general of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. He served as Chief of Defence of Norway (Norwegian: sjef for Forsvarsstaben) from 1955 to 1956.

Personal life

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Lambrechts was born in Kristiania, the son of county manager Sigurd Lambrechts and Augusta Mowinckel. On 24 June 1929, he married Cuba-born Anita Brøgger.[1][2]

Career

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Early career

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Lambrechts graduated as naval officer in 1921,[1] and from the navy's pilot school in 1924.[2] He published the book Lærebok i luftnavigasjon in 1935, and worked as a pilot for the Norwegian Air Lines from 1935 to 1939.[3]

Second World War

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Lambrechts (no. 5 from the left) in Scotland in 1943

During the Second World War, he served as a pilot and aviation officer in Great Britain with the No. 333 Squadron RAF.[3] He was pilot of the first operation using the amphibious aircraft Catalina to land agents on the Norwegian coast on 1 May 1942.[4]

Post war

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After the war, Lambrechts served as air attaché in Stockholm from 1945 to 1946.[2] He was promoted to lieutenant general and head of the Royal Norwegian Air Force in 1951. From 1955 to 1956, he served as Chief of Defence of Norway (Norwegian: sjef for Forsvarsstaben).[3]

Honours and awards

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Lambrechts was decorated Knight of the French Legion of Honour.[1] He was awarded the Norwegian War Cross with Sword and the British Distinguished Flying Cross for achievements during the Second World War.[2][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Barth, Bjarne Keyser, ed. (1930). "Lambrechts, F.". Norges militære embedsmenn 1929 (in Norwegian). Oslo: A. M. Hanche. pp. 346–347.
  2. ^ a b c d Gram, Harald; Steenstrup, Bjørn, eds. (1948). "Lambrechts Finn". Hvem er hvem? (in Norwegian). Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 308. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Henriksen, Petter (ed.). "Finn Lambrechts". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  4. ^ Voksø, Per, ed. (1984). "Catalinafly lander på kysten". Krigens Dagbok (in Norwegian). Oslo: Det Beste. p. 234. ISBN 82-7010-166-4.
  5. ^ Waage, Johan (1967). "Krigskorset". Den høyeste heder (in Norwegian). Oslo: Dreyer. pp. 209–210.
Military offices
Preceded by Chief of Defence of Norway
1955 - 1956
Succeeded by