Master-General of the Ordnance^[1] (Swedish: Generalfälttygmästare, Gftm) was in Sweden a chief officer of the War College from 1682 to 1865, then until 1968 in the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration.^[2]

History

In Sweden, the Master-General of the Ordnance (Generalfälttygmästare) was an appointment for a member of the War College from 1675 and the head of the Artillery Office (Artillerikontoret) from 1682 to 1794 and from 1807 to 1897. The Master-General of the Ordnance was responsible for the central administration of the artillery, the procurement and care of the army's weapons and ammunition, and for the land defence' (lantförsvaret) stock supplies, the so-called Ordnance Storage (Tygförrådet). Earlier, he was called Riksfälttygsmästare. Between 1782 and 1865, the Master-General of the Ordnance was the head of the Ordnance Department of the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration, with, among others, the Deputy Chief of Ordnance and two Tygmästare ("Master of the Ordnance") of regimental officers or captain's rank, as subordinates.^[3]

The Master-General of the Ordnance was head of the artillery until 1898. That year a change was carried out through which the artillery regiments and corps were placed under the command of the commander of each army division, while the Master-General of the Ordnance retained the command over the Artillery Staff and the artillery workshops and ordnance staff. However, he still had the obligation to inspect the artillery's exercises, and his complete title was therefore the Master-General of the Ordnance and Inspector of Artillery. He also served as head of the Artillery Department of the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration.^[4] As Inspector, he was responsible for the artillery in the same way as the Inspectors of the Infantry and the Cavalry, and also commanded and supervised the Swedish Army Artillery School (Artilleriets skjutskola, ArtSS).^[5]

As Master-General of the Ordnance, it was imperative for him to pay constant attention to the improvement of firearms with associated ammunition and equipment, and for that purpose at the King's request to employ or attempt to arrange for them. Furthermore, he would submit to the King for review and establishing proposals for new or changed weapon designs and more. Finally, he would oversee operations at artillery factories and ordnance establishments and oversee manufacturing of weapons, ammunition and artillery equipment for the needs of the army.^[5] To his assistant, the Master-General of the Ordnance and the Inspector of Artillery in the latter capacity had at his disposal certain personnel from the Artillery Staff. This personnel, which together formed the Artillery Inspectorate (Artilleriinspektionen), was made up partly of the head of the Artillery Staff, who also served as commander of the Swedish Army Artillery School, and partly of the chief of staff of the Artillery Inspectorate, a major of the Artillery Staff, with the subordinate Equipment Department and the Inspector's Office Department. The personnel in the departments consisted of Artillery Staff officers and commissioned officers.^[5]

In 1936, the Master-General of the Ordnance's role as Inspector of Artillery ceased and in 1937 he became the head of the Swedish Army Ordnance Corps.^[6] In 1968 the post was eliminated.

Masters-General of the Ordnance

• 1682–1692: Per Larsson Sparre
• 1692–1693: Erik Dahlbergh
• 1693–1710: Johan Siöblad
• 1710–1712: Vacant
• 1712–1715: Reinhold Johan von Fersen
• 1715–1719: Henning Rudolf Horn af Rantzien
• 1719–1724: Hugo Hamilton Hamilton af Hageby
• 1724–1728: Vacant
• 1728–1740: Fredrik Magnus Cronberg
• 1741–1754: Per Siöblad
• 1754–1757: Vacant^[7]
• 1757–1759: Thomas Cunninghame^{[lower-alpha 1]}
• 1759–1761: Carl Ehrensvärd (acting)^[8]
• 1761–1765: Carl Funck (acting)
• 1766–1772: Anders Reinhold Wrangel
• 1772–1781: Reinhold Anrep
• 1781–1784: Gabriel von Spången (acting)
• 1784–1791: Carl Gideon Sinclair
• 1791–1800: Carl Ulrik Silfverschiöld
• 1800–1803: Nils Fredrik Ehrenström
• 1803–1807: Vacant
• 1807–1815: Carl von Helvig
• 1816–1821: Carl von Cardell
• 1821–1844: Crown Prince Oscar
• 1828–1834: Claes Josef Breitholtz
• 1844–1849: Axel Gustaf von Arbin
• 1849–1857: Crown Prince Charles
• 1857–1867: Fabian Wrede af Elimä

Portrait	Master-General of the Ordnance	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Monarch	Ref.
	Hägerflycht, Carl HenrikMajor general Carl Henrik Hägerflycht (1817–1881) Acting	1867	?	-	Army	Charles XV	[9]
	Hägerflycht, Carl HenrikMajor general Carl Henrik Hägerflycht (1817–1881)	1872	14 August 1874	1–2 years	Army	Oscar II	[9][10]
	Leijonhufvud, CarlColonel Carl Leijonhufvud (1822–1900) Acting	18 February 1873	July 1874	0–1 years	Army	Oscar II	[11][12]
	Carlsohn, Frans ReinholdColonel Frans Reinhold Carlsohn (1821–1899) Acting	July 1874	August 1874	0 years	Army	Oscar II	[12]
	Leijonhufvud, CarlLieutenant general[lower-alpha 2] Carl Leijonhufvud (1822–1900)	14 August 1874	12 September 1890	16 years, 29 days	Army	Oscar II	[11]
	Breitholtz, Edvard JuliusMajor general Edvard Julius Breitholtz (1830–1912)	12 September 1890	31 December 1897	7 years, 110 days	Army	Oscar II	[13][14]
	Hamilton, JohnMajor general John Hamilton (1834–1904)	1898	1902	3–4 years	Army	Oscar II	-
	Geijer, GottschalkMajor general Gottschalk Geijer (1850–1924)	12 August 1902	30 October 1903	1 year, 79 days	Army	Oscar II	[15]
	Leth, FredrikLieutenant general[lower-alpha 3] Fredrik Leth (1850–1919)	30 October 1903	10 April 1915	11 years, 162 days	Army	Oscar II Gustaf V	[17]
	Hedengren, DavidMajor general David Hedengren (1858–1946)	1915	1919	3–4 years	Army	Gustaf V	[18]
	Sparre, LarsLieutenant general[lower-alpha 4] Lars Sparre (1864–1947)	1919	1929	9–10 years	Army	Gustaf V	[20][19]
	Hammarskiöld, LudvigLieutenant general[lower-alpha 5] Ludvig Hammarskiöld (1869–1958)	1 July 1929	1934	4–5 years	Army	Gustaf V	[21]
	Osterman, OscarMajor general Oscar Osterman (1874–1956)	1934	1939	4–5 years	Army	Gustaf V	[22]
	Gustafsson, HalvarMajor general Halvar Gustafsson (1887–1953)	1 October 1939	1949	9–10 years	Army	Gustaf V	[23]
	Hedqvist, BirgerMajor general Birger Hedqvist (1894–1964)	1 April 1949	1959	9–10 years	Army	Gustaf V Gustaf VI Adolf	[24]
	Malm, EdwardMajor general Edward Malm (1899–1983)	1959	1964	4–5 years	Army	Gustaf VI Adolf	[25]
	Wåhlin, StenMajor general Sten Wåhlin (1914–1981)	1964	1966	1–2 years	Army	Gustaf VI Adolf	[26]
	Ljung, OveMajor general Ove Ljung (1918–1997)	1966	1968	1–2 years	Army	Gustaf VI Adolf	[27]

See also

• Deputy Chief of Ordnance

Footnotes

References