Swedish Air Force Museum
Somewhere in the museum's lower level, shrouded in careful lighting, sits the twisted wreckage of a DC-3 that vanished over the Baltic Sea in 1952. For fifty years, the Swedish government maintained the aircraft was on a navigational training mission when Soviet MiG-15s shot it down. Only after the plane was recovered from the seafloor in 2003 did the truth emerge: it had been conducting electronic intelligence operations, eavesdropping on Soviet communications during the tensest years of the Cold War. Eight crew members died keeping that secret. Their aircraft now rests at the Swedish Air Force Museum in Malmslätt, a place where Sweden's complicated relationship with the skies is told with unflinching honesty.
Where Flight Began
The museum occupies hallowed ground in Swedish aviation history. In 1912, Baron Carl Cederström - nicknamed the "Flyer Baron" - founded his flying school at Malmen, making this airfield the cradle of Swedish aviation. The Royal Swedish Air School still operates here today, training pilots on Saab 105 jet trainers that occasionally streak overhead, connecting past and present in a single engine roar. The museum itself grew organically from this heritage, beginning as the Östgöta Wing squadron museum in 1984 and expanding twice - in 1989 and dramatically in 2010 - to encompass three levels of exhibition space housed in massive hangar-sized halls.
Wings Through Time
Walking through the collection is like watching Swedish aviation evolve in fast-forward. World War I artifacts include an Albatros B.IIa trainer and Nieuport combat aircraft from the pioneering days. The interwar period brought the establishment of Sweden's Air Force in 1926 and the birth of SAAB. World War II displays show how the neutral nation rapidly expanded its air capabilities, acquiring everything from Italian Fiat CR42s to British Spitfires. But the true stars are the homegrown fighters: the distinctive Saab J 29 "Flying Barrel" from the 1950s, the needle-nosed J 35 Draken, the revolutionary AJS 37 Viggen, and the cutting-edge JAS 39 Gripen. The museum also houses the world's only surviving Junkers Ju 86 twin-engined bomber, a German-built aircraft that once flew in Swedish markings.
Cold War Shadows
Sweden's position during the Cold War defies simple neutrality narratives. The museum's permanent exhibition on this era, spanning the 1950s through the 1980s, reveals a nation preparing intensively for a war it hoped would never come. Underground aircraft shelters, dispersal bases hidden in forests, and roads designed to double as emergency runways all feature in the displays. The centerpiece is the recovered DC-3 - designated Tp 79 in Swedish service - whose 2003 discovery finally brought closure to families who had waited five decades to learn how their loved ones truly died. On 13 May 2009, the aircraft was placed in its final resting position at the museum.
A Living Collection
Unlike static aircraft graveyards, the Swedish Air Force Museum breathes with ongoing activity. The Östergötland Society for Aviation History actively restores aircraft in the facility, and visitors can watch conservation work in progress. The collection spans over fifty aircraft on display in the main halls alone, with dozens more in storage or under restoration. A Gripen simulator lets visitors experience modern combat flight, while the knowledge center houses archives, photographs, and personal files documenting the human stories behind the machines. The museum's excellence has been recognized: it won Sweden's Museum of the Year award in 2011 and the Exhibition of the Year prize in 2010.
From the Air
Located at 58.41N, 15.52E at Malmen Airbase, just west of Linköping. The museum and airfield are clearly visible from altitude. Nearby airports include Linköping City Airport (ESSL) and Norrköping Airport (ESSP). The Royal Swedish Air School operates SK60 trainers from the adjacent active military airfield, so expect potential military traffic in the area. Best viewed from 3,000-5,000 feet AGL on approach from the south, where the distinctive hangar buildings stand out against the Swedish countryside.