Torsten Friis
| Torsten Friis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
1 August 1882 Malmö, Sweden |
| Died | 21 April 1967 (aged 84) Järfälla, Sweden |
| Allegiance | Sweden |
| Service/branch | Swedish Air Force |
| Years of service | 1902–1942 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held |
Field Telegraph Corps Chief of the Air Force |
Torsten Friis (1 August 1882 – 21 April 1967) was a Swedish Air Force lieutenant general. Friis was initially a fortification officer and was commanding officer of the Field Telegraph Corps from 1928 to 1932 and of the Military Office of the Land Defence (Lantförsvarets kommandoexpedition) from 1932 to 1934. In 1934 he was commissioned to build the Swedish Air Force and was appointed Chief of the Air Force, a position he held until 1942 when he retired.
Friis was born in Malmö, Sweden, the son of vice consul Ernst Friis and his wife Sophie (née Thomée) and brother of rear admiral Helge Friis (1883–1956). He passed studentexamen in 1900 and became an officer in 1902 with the rank of underlöjtnant the same year. Friis became lieutenant in the Royal Swedish Fortification (Kungliga Fortifikationen) in 1907 and graduated from the Artillery and Engineering College in 1908. Friis was promoted to captain in 1913 and served in the campaign with the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1916. He was a teacher at the Royal Swedish Army Staff College from 1918 to 1919 and at the Artillery and Engineering College from 1919 to 1921 and served as adjutant to the Crown Prince from 1920 to 1932. He became captain in the General Staff in 1921 and major in the General Staff in 1922.
Friis was head of department at the General Staff's Technical Department from 1922 to 1927 and was lieutenant colonel in the General Staff in 1926 and became a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Swedish Fortification in 1928. He was commanding officer of the Field Telegraph Corps from 1928 to 1932 and was promoted to colonel in the Field Telegraph Corps in 1932. Friis was chief of the Military Office of the Land Defence (Lantförsvarets kommandoexpedition) from 1932 to 1934 and became major general in the Swedish Air Force in 1934. In April 1934, the then Chief of the Air Force major general Eric Virgin applied for a year's leave of absence, after Virgin and the Abyssinia government entered an agreements to which Virgin would function as chief adviser of the reorganization of the country's army. Friis took over as Chief of the Air Force and was promoted to lieutenant general in 1936.
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