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RAF officer rank insignia
*** Shopping-Tip: RAF officer rank insignia
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{{Ranks and Insignia of NATO Air Forces/OF/Blank}}
{{Ranks and Insignia of NATO Air Forces/OF/United Kingdom}}
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|Abbreviation||MRAF||Air Chf Mshl or ACM||Air Mshl or AM||AVM||Air Cdre||Gp Capt||Wg Cdr||Sqn Ldr||Flt Lt||Fg Off or F/O||Plt Off or P/O||||OCdt or SO
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* 1 Currently honorary/wartime rank only.
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{{RAF}}
Origins
Lieutenant-General David Henderson (military officer) David Henderson originally proposed that Royal Air Force officers use a combination of British Army and Royal Navy ranks. However, the War Office argued that the RAF should have its own ranks and the Admiralty opposed any use of their rank titles.
Badges of Rank
On 1 April 1918, Air Force Memorandum 2 specified rank insignia for the newly established independent force. Rank was to be worn on the jacket cuff and was derived from the Royal Navy's rings, each equivalent rank having the same number of rings. However, Second Lieutenants (now Pilot Officers) displayed a crowned eagle only and the Navy's loop was not used for any rank. Depending on the uniform, either gold or pale blue on grey braid was worn.
In August 1918, Air Ministry Weekly Order 617 added a single band of 1/4 inch braid below the Second Lieutenant's eagle and all other officer ranks also received a crowned eagle above their braid.
Image:RAF Mess Dress Rank Flt Lt.jpg thumb|100px|left|RAF [[Mess Dress cuff insignia for a Flight Lieutenant]]
In 1919 the colour of the rank braid was changed to black with a central pale blue stripe. However, on RAF Mess dress mess dress rank continued to be displayed in gold.
Rank Titles
On 1 August 1919, Air Ministry Weekly Order 973 introduced new rank titles for RAF officers. They were based on Royal Navy ranks and their titles were influenced by the usage in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) during World War I. For example, the RAF rank of Flight Lieutenant was based on the RNAS rank of the same name. The rank of Squadron Leader derived its name from the RNAS rank of Squadron Commander. Initially the highest rank was titled Marshal of the Air. However, only a few days after it was promulgated and at the request of George V of the United Kingdom King George V, this rank title was changed to Marshal of the Royal Air Force.
Distinction between ranks and appointments
Many RAF ranks do not imply the appointment or duties of an officer. For example, a Pilot Officer may well not be trained to pilot an aircraft and a Squadron Leader does not necessarily command a squadron.
Composite Braid
Image:Composite Braid Sqn Ldr.jpg thumb|200px|right|Composite braid as worn by a squadron leader
RAF officers typically wear composite braid rank slides with their working and operational uniforms. Composite braid consists of a single piece of fabric, where the 'background' between the rank rings is made from blue-grey material. Composite braid rank slides are often referred to as 'bar-code' in RAF slang.
Other air forces
The following air forces use a similar or identical officer rank structure to the RAF:
*Royal Australian Air Force
*Royal New Zealand Air Force
*Nigerian Air Force
*Indian Air Force (formerly the Royal Indian Air Force)
*Pakistan Air Force (formerly the Royal Pakistan Air Force)
*Bangladesh Air Force
*Sri Lanka Air Force (formerly the Royal Ceylon Air Force)
*Ghana Air Force
*Air Force of Zimbabwe (formerly the Royal Rhodesian Air Force)
The following air forces use rank insignia for their officers which are similar to the RAF, but employ army rank titles:
*Royal Netherlands Air Force
*Danish Air Force Royal Danish Air Force
The following air forces formerly used a similar or identical officer rank structure to the RAF:
*Royal Canadian Air Force
*Royal Malaysian Air Force
The following air forces formerly used similar rank insigia to the RAF:
*Royal Omani Air Force
*Republic of Singapore Air Force
See also
*Ranks and insignia of NATO Air Forces Officers
*Comparative military ranks of World War I
*Comparative military ranks of World War II
*Comparative military ranks
*Military rank
*Royal Air Force
Category:Military ranks of the United Kingdom Officer ranks
Category:Military insignia
Category:Royal Air Force
{{UK officer ranks}}
External links and references
- Officer Ranks and Badges of the RAF
*Hobart, Malcolm ''"Badges and Uniforms of the Royal Air Force"'', ISBN 0850527392
*** Shopping-Tip: RAF officer rank insignia
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