Friends in a Cold Climate in Sweden

“When we were in Norrkoping, that society turned out to be so much more emancipated than with us. I immediately thought I would like to live in Sweden. That’s how equal men and women are there. We went there too, that was funny, because Sweden of course did not participate in NATO, we went to the army, the air force as an outing. They just had, they were proud of that, the new planes they had purchased. We went to that army base and got a tour and then we were allowed to view the inside of those planes. And there were male pilots and female pilots, I’m not very familiar with ranks in the army, but those women also had quite a lot of those (stripes) those things on. So I thought that was great that it was so easy there, that was not possible with us at all!” (Connie from Schiedam)

Bråvalla Wing, also F 13 Norrköping, is a former Swedish Air Force wing with the main base located near Norrköping in south-eastern Sweden. In the 1970s they flew with the Swedish developed Saab 37 Viggen. Youths are still able to experience of Swedish Air Force’s capabilities, this time by flying in the simulator of the Saab JAS 39 Gripen at the Swedish Air Force Museum at Malmen Airbase in Malmslätt, just outside Linköping, Sweden.