RAF enlisted ranks
Encyclopedia
The term used in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 to refer to all ranks below commissioned officer
RAF officer ranks
- Ranks :-Origins:Lieutenant-General David Henderson originally proposed that Royal Air Force officers use a combination of British Army and Royal Navy ranks...

 level is Other Ranks
Other Ranks
Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers. In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings...

(ORs). It includes Warrant Officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...

s, non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...

s (NCOs), and airmen.

Ranks


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Abbreviation WO MAcr FS CT or Chf Tech Sgt Cpl LCpl SAC(T) SAC LAC AC

Origins

Upon the formation of the Royal Air Force in 1918, rank titles and badges for ORs were adopted from the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

, specifically the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

 (RFC). The RFC ranks of Warrant Officer Class I, Warrant Officer Class II, Flight Sergeant, Sergeant, and Corporal were directly adopted, although the four-bladed propeller above the Sergeants' and Flight Sergeants' chevrons was dropped. The double-bladed propeller used as the badge of rank for an RFC Air Mechanic 1st Class was introduced as the trade classification badge for Leading Aircraftman
Leading Aircraftman
Leading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) Leading aircraftman (LAC) (or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a rank in some air forces, between aircraftman and senior aircraftman and having a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller....

. The rank of Aircraftman
Aircraftman
Aircraftman , or Aircraftwoman , is the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries....

 replaced the RFC rank of Air Mechanic 2nd Class.

Changes in 1939—Warrant Officers

In 1939, the ranks of Warrant Officer Class I and Warrant Officer Class II were combined as a single rank, Warrant Officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...

. RAF warrant officers were given equivalent status to the continuing Army rank of Warrant Officer Class I.

Changes in 1946—Aircrew

On 1 July 1946, NCOs serving as aircrew were assigned different rank badges which distinguished them from ORs in ground trades. The new ranks were:
Master Aircrew
Master Aircrew
Master aircrew is the warrant-officer rank held by aircrew in the Royal Air Force. It is equivalent to warrant officer in other trades, and is effectively the highest non-commissioned aircrew rank...

 
equivalent to Warrant Officer Eagle within wreath below Royal Arms
Aircrew I equivalent to Flight Sergeant Three 6-pointed stars within wreath below eagle below crown
Aircrew II equivalent to Sergeant Three 6-pointed stars within wreath below eagle
Aircrew III equivalent to Sergeant Two 6-pointed stars within wreath below eagle
Aircrew IV equivalent to Sergeant One 6-pointed star within wreath below eagle
Aircrew Cadet for trainee aircrew Empty wreath below eagle

Changes in 1950—Technicians and Aircrew

In 1950, a new grading system for technicians was introduced. This involved the creation of the following ranks:
  • Master Technician (for Warrant Officers in technical trades)
  • Chief Technician (for Flight Sergeants in technical trades) with three inverted chevrons surmounted by a crown
  • Senior Technician (for Sergeants in technical trades) with three inverted chevrons
  • Corporal Technician (for Corporals in technical trades) with two inverted chevrons
  • Junior Technician with one inverted chevron


Also in 1950, the unpopular NCO aircrew ranks were abolished, although Master Aircrew was retained as a rank. Aircrew I became Flight Sergeant Aircrew and Aircrew II, III and IV became Sergeant Aircrew. Both new ranks adopted a gold eagle above the chevrons to permit continuing distinction from ground trades. Aircrew cadets wore the eagle on its own.
{ style="text-align:center; border: 1px solid #BBB; margin: .46em 0 0 .2em;" Master Aircrew Flight Sergeant Aircrew Sergeant Aircrew

Changes in 1951—Junior Ranks

On 1 January 1951, two junior ranks were introduced:
  • Senior Aircraftman (or Senior Aircraftwoman) with a triple-bladed propeller.
  • Leading Aircraftman (or Leading Aircraftwoman) with a double-bladed propeller (this had previously been only a trade classification and not a rank)

Changes in 1964—Technicians

In 1964, the technician ranks were abolished, with the exception of Junior Technician and Chief Technician, the latter becoming an intermediate rank between Sergeant and Flight Sergeant for Technical Trades. Junior Technicians adopted the four-bladed propeller as their badge of rank and Chief Technicians adopted a treble chevron surmounted by a four-bladed propeller as their rank insignia. Master Technicians, Senior Technicians and Corporal Technicians became Warrant Officer, Sergeant and Corporal respectively. The ORs structure became:
  • Warrant Officer
    Warrant Officer
    A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...

     / Master Aircrew
    Master Aircrew
    Master aircrew is the warrant-officer rank held by aircrew in the Royal Air Force. It is equivalent to warrant officer in other trades, and is effectively the highest non-commissioned aircrew rank...

  • Flight Sergeant
    Flight Sergeant
    Flight sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure...

     / Flight Sergeant Aircrew
  • Chief Technician
    Chief Technician
    Chief technician is a non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force which is only held by airmen in technical trades and by musicians. It is between sergeant and flight sergeant and, like the latter has a NATO code of OR-7. Airmen in non-technical trades progress directly from sergeant to flight...

  • Sergeant
    Sergeant
    Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....

     / Sergeant Aircrew
  • Corporal
    Corporal
    Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....

  • Junior Technician
    Junior Technician
    Junior Technician is a junior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the Pakistan Air Force. In the RAF it ranks equal to Senior Aircraftman Technician , above Senior Aircraftman and below Corporal and has a NATO rank code of OR-2...

  • Senior Aircraftman
    Senior Aircraftman
    Senior Aircraftman , or Senior Aircraftwoman , is a rank in the Royal Air Force, ranking between Leading Aircraftman and Senior Aircraftman Technician and having a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank, which is non-supervisory, was introduced on 1 January 1951...

     (or Senior Aircraftwoman)
  • Leading Aircraftman
    Leading Aircraftman
    Leading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) Leading aircraftman (LAC) (or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a rank in some air forces, between aircraftman and senior aircraftman and having a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller....

     (or Leading Aircraftwoman)
  • Aircraftman
    Aircraftman
    Aircraftman , or Aircraftwoman , is the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries....

     (or Aircraftwoman)

Changes in 2005—phasing out of Junior Technician

From 2005 onwards, no more airmen have been promoted to Junior Technician. Although there are currently personnel in the rank of Junior Technician, once they have all been promoted or discharged from the RAF, the rank will cease to be used. From March 2005, SACs in technical trades who had attained the Operational Performance Standard were promoted to SAC(T) and given a new badge of rank, consisting of the three-bladed propeller inside a circle. This new rank was introduced, to distinguish airmen trained to work unsupervised from those who were not, and is equivalent to the old Junior Technician rank.

Introduction of Lance Corporal

On 1 April 2010, the RAF Regiment
RAF Regiment
The Royal Air Force Regiment is a specialist airfield defence corps founded by Royal Warrant in 1942. After a 32 week trainee gunner course, its members are trained and equipped to prevent a successful enemy attack in the first instance; minimise the damage caused by a successful attack; and...

 introduced the rank of Lance Corporal for current SACs who undertake the role of section second-in-command/fire team commander. This gives them more authority on the ground, as well as a better pay band. It seems that the rank will not be moving to other trades, and will be solely in the RAF Regiment.

See also

  • Royal Navy ratings rank insignia
  • British Army Other Ranks rank insignia
  • Comparative military ranks
    Comparative military ranks
    This article is a list of various states' armed forces ranking designations. Comparisons are made between the different systems used by nations to categorize the hierarchy of an armed force compared to another. Several of these lists mention NATO reference codes. These are the NATO rank reference...

  • Comparative military ranks of World War I
    Comparative military ranks of World War I
    The following table shows comparative officer ranks of the principal Allied and Central powers during World War I. For modern ranks refer to Comparative military ranks.See also: Comparative military ranks of World War IIMajor participants not shown:...

  • Comparative military ranks of World War II
    Comparative military ranks of World War II
    The following table shows comparative officer ranks of major Allied and Axis powers during World War II. For modern ranks refer to Comparative military ranks.KEY:*Comparative military ranks of World War I*List of comparative military ranks...

  • Military rank
    Military rank
    Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...

  • List of Royal Air Force members
  • Ranks and insignia of NATO Air Forces Enlisted
    Ranks and insignia of NATO Air Forces Enlisted
    The following are the ranks and insignia of NATO Air Forces Enlisted personnel for each member nation.- Other Ranks :- See also :* NATO* Ranks and insignia of NATO* Ranks and insignia of NATO Armies Officers...


External links

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