[2] He passed studentexamen in Västervik in 1947[2] and then began his 27-year career in the Swedish Air Force as an officer cadet, flying the Bücker Bestmann, Harvard, Vampire, and P-51 Mustang, in that order.
He was a flight engineer at the Swedish Air Force Flying School in 1953[2] and decided the same year that he was not suited to be an officer, and got himself into the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
As a retired pilot and officer of Swedish C-130 F 7 Wing squadron service, his worldwide contacts allowed Olausson to construct a detailed history of every Hercules built, with upwards of 2,350 hulls accounted for.
As the Hercules has seen worldwide service in the last fifty years, it pinpoints global hotspots by its use,[3] and Olausson's efforts provide a source for operators' discrete records, from Air America and the CIA in Southeast Asia, up to the covert rendition aircraft of current day.
It would appear that Lockheed Martin, the current producer of the C-130, finds the volume a useful reference, as they provide substantial new production information each year.