Activities

The National Swedish Museums of Military History (SFHM) have been charged with promoting knowledge about the Swedish armed forces through the ages and their role in the development of society.

SFHM is currently undergoing a period of dynamic restructuring, and faces major challenges. The Air Force Museum is currently being extensively rebuilt and refurbished in preparation for the display of the DC-3 shot down by the Soviet Union in 1952 and recovered from the Baltic Sea in 2004. The museum will also present an exhibition describing the role of the DC-3 in the Cold War. The Air Force Museum is currently closed, and will reopen in June 2010.

The Army Museum has faced new challenges through the process of disarmament and change of focus of the armed forces. These challenges include how to describe the investment that was poured into the armed forces during the Cold War as a guarantee for democracy and Swedish independence.

A new department was formed within SFHM on 1 January 2009, the Swedish Military Heritage office (SMHAk). This office is to support a network consisting of 25 museums all over Sweden. Swedish Military Heritage and the new office are the product of a collaborative project between the The National Swedish Museums of Military History (SFHM) and the National Maritime museums (SMM). The task of the network is to document and manage Sweden’s military history, with a particular emphasis on the Cold War.

The activities of SFHM include also supervision of the Board of Military traditions, which is an expert body in the field of military traditions. These include matters concerning colours, standards, medals, heraldry and military uniforms and the board advises the military in these matters. The chairperson of the board is the superintendent.

SFHM collaborates with many actors both within Sweden and abroad. Particular emphasis is placed on cooperation between the museums of military and defence history in the Nordic countries and corresponding institutions in the Baltic states.