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By US standards, the Swedish Army is poorly equipped. Automatic weapons,
armored vehicles and anti-aircraft show a marked deficiency for modern warfare. In
addition to some obsolete light tanks of Swedish and foreign manufacture the army
is reported to have about three hundred 24-ton tanks (75 mm gun). Multiple auto-
matic guns on motor carriages, such as the USA M-16 and M-17, are non-existent. Most
of the Swedish artillery is 75 mm. or larger and represents a heterogeneous collection
with many types obsolete. The supply of motorized vehicles is inadequate. Horse and
even dog-drawn military vehicles are still widely used and transport vehicles are a key
shortage. Other major shortages are in radar, anti-aircraft automatic weapons and
communications equipment. Maintenance is, in general, of high standard.
Efforts are being made, mainly through the medium of the Swedish Bofors
Company, to modernize present equipment where possible and to develop and manu-
facture improved models of nearly all equipment.
C. Navy.
The active personnel strength of the Navy presently exceeds 9,000. This in-
cludes 505 officers, 258 staff officers (these are partly naval, partly coast artillery officers,
the two services having combined staffs), 1,550 warrant officers, 3,800 regular enlisted
men, and 3,000 conscripts. There are approximately 185 vessels in the Navy with 115
of these of combat types. Owing to budget limitations and lack of skilled engineering
personnel, only a portion of these ships are currently in commission. While those in
commission plus some in reserve could be readied in two weeks, others cannot be con-
sidered active as units for a somewhat longer period. The time required would depend
upon the type of duty to be performed (anti-submarine, AA, convoy, escort patrol, etc.).
Personnel mobilization is another limiting factor, owing to uncertainty as to the number
of merchant marine reserves whose ships would be in home ports at any given time,
and the demands of civilian industry. To remedy this, mobilization plans specify
recall of pensioned civilian and ex-navy personnel for whom a period of refresher
training for gunnery, operational and tactical purposes would be necessary. Once fully
mobilized the Navy would number over 42,000.
The three naval bases are located at Stockholm, Karlskrona, and Göteborg;
each ship has one of these three bases as its home port. The principal combat force
is the Coastal Fleet, usually located on the east coast. Major combat vessels include
3 cruisers, 15 destroyers, 6 escort vessels, 25 submarines, and 23 motor torpedo boats.
Two of the cruisers are modern and the navy has a small destroyer program of sound
design. The submarine service is the elite of the navy but no new submarines are being
built at present, possibly owing to a desire to watch the rapid development in design
prior to re-equipping.
With the exception of the two new cruisers, and two new destroyers, the fleet
is generally lacking in modern armament. In general, the navy is inexperienced in
present-day methods such as anti-submarine warfare, employment of radar and sonar,
and AA fire control technique. However, very gradual modernization of existing ships
is in progress. Relatively new vessels are being equipped with additional AA defense
67
SECRET
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"ocrText": "SECRET\nBy US standards, the Swedish Army is poorly equipped. Automatic weapons,\narmored vehicles and anti-aircraft show a marked deficiency for modern warfare. In\naddition to some obsolete light tanks of Swedish and foreign manufacture the army\nis reported to have about three hundred 24-ton tanks (75 mm gun). Multiple auto-\nmatic guns on motor carriages, such as the USA M-16 and M-17, are non-existent. Most\nof the Swedish artillery is 75 mm. or larger and represents a heterogeneous collection\nwith many types obsolete. The supply of motorized vehicles is inadequate. Horse and\neven dog-drawn military vehicles are still widely used and transport vehicles are a key\nshortage. Other major shortages are in radar, anti-aircraft automatic weapons and\ncommunications equipment. Maintenance is, in general, of high standard.\nEfforts are being made, mainly through the medium of the Swedish Bofors\nCompany, to modernize present equipment where possible and to develop and manu-\nfacture improved models of nearly all equipment.\nC. Navy.\nThe active personnel strength of the Navy presently exceeds 9,000. This in-\ncludes 505 officers, 258 staff officers (these are partly naval, partly coast artillery officers,\nthe two services having combined staffs), 1,550 warrant officers, 3,800 regular enlisted\nmen, and 3,000 conscripts. There are approximately 185 vessels in the Navy with 115\nof these of combat types. Owing to budget limitations and lack of skilled engineering\npersonnel, only a portion of these ships are currently in commission. While those in\ncommission plus some in reserve could be readied in two weeks, others cannot be con-\nsidered active as units for a somewhat longer period. The time required would depend\nupon the type of duty to be performed (anti-submarine, AA, convoy, escort patrol, etc.).\nPersonnel mobilization is another limiting factor, owing to uncertainty as to the number\nof merchant marine reserves whose ships would be in home ports at any given time,\nand the demands of civilian industry. To remedy this, mobilization plans specify\nrecall of pensioned civilian and ex-navy personnel for whom a period of refresher\ntraining for gunnery, operational and tactical purposes would be necessary. Once fully\nmobilized the Navy would number over 42,000.\nThe three naval bases are located at Stockholm, Karlskrona, and Göteborg;\neach ship has one of these three bases as its home port. The principal combat force\nis the Coastal Fleet, usually located on the east coast. Major combat vessels include\n3 cruisers, 15 destroyers, 6 escort vessels, 25 submarines, and 23 motor torpedo boats.\nTwo of the cruisers are modern and the navy has a small destroyer program of sound\ndesign. The submarine service is the elite of the navy but no new submarines are being\nbuilt at present, possibly owing to a desire to watch the rapid development in design\nprior to re-equipping.\nWith the exception of the two new cruisers, and two new destroyers, the fleet\nis generally lacking in modern armament. In general, the navy is inexperienced in\npresent-day methods such as anti-submarine warfare, employment of radar and sonar,\nand AA fire control technique. However, very gradual modernization of existing ships\nis in progress. Relatively new vessels are being equipped with additional AA defense\n67\nSECRET"
}