RAF other ranks

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NATO Code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4		OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
United Kingdom (Edit)							No Equivalent																		No Equivalent								No Insignia
	Warrant Officer			Master Aircrew					Flight Sergeant	Chief Technician	Sergeant												Corporal				Junior Technician		Senior Aircraftman (or Aircraftwoman)		Leading Aircraftman (or Aircraftwoman)		Aircraftman (or Aircraftwoman)
Abbreviation	WO			MAcr					FS or Flt Sgt	CT or Chf Tech	Sgt												Cpl				Jnr Tech or JT		SAC(W)		LAC(W)		AC(W)

The term used in the Royal Air Force to refer to all ranks below commissioned officer level is Other Ranks (ORs). It includes Warrant Officers, non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and airmen.

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Contents 1 Origins 2 Changes in 1939 - Warrant Officers 3 Changes in 1946 - Aircrew 4 Changes in 1950 - Technicians and Aircrew 5 Changes in 1951 - Junior Ranks 6 Changes in 1964 - Technicians 7 Changes in 2005 - Phasing out of Junior Technician 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] Origins

Upon the formation of the Royal Air Force in 1918, rank titles and badges for ORs were adopted from the British Army, specifically the Royal Flying Corps (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. The rank of Aircraftman replaced the RFC rank of Air Mechanic 2nd Class.

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

[edit] 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	(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

[edit] 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 cheverons to permit continuing distinction from ground trades. Aircrew Cadets wore the eagle on its own.

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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 cheveron surmounted by a four-bladed propeller as their rank insignia. Master Technicians, Senior Technicians and Corporal Technicians all reverted to their former ranks of Warrant Officer, Sergeant and Corporal respectively. The ORs structure became:

• Warrant Officer / Master Aircrew
• Flight Sergeant / Flight Sergeant Aircrew
• Chief Technician
• Sergeant / Sergeant Aircrew
• Corporal
• Junior Technician
• Senior Aircraftman (or Senior Aircraftwoman)
• Leading Aircraftman (or Leading Aircraftwoman)
• Aircraftman (or Aircraftwoman)

[edit] Changes in 2005 - Phasing out of Junior Technician

From 2005 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. Also from 2005, Senior Aircraftmen in technical trades who had attained the Operational Performance Standard were given a new badge of rank, consisting of the three-bladed propeller inside a circle (SAC-T's). This new rank insignia was introduced, at least in part, to distinguish airmen trained to work unsupervised from those who were not, although in practice under the old rank structure long serving and competent SAC's would often carry out some of the technical duties that were designated as JT duties, this was mainly due to the large numbers of SAC's waiting for fitters course to enable promotion to JT.

[edit] See also

• RAF officer ranks
• Ranks and insignia of NATO Air Forces Enlisted
• Comparative military ranks of World War I
• Comparative military ranks of World War II
• Comparative military ranks
• Military rank
• Royal Air Force

[edit] External links

• Enlisted Ranks and Badges of the RAF

Common military ranks
Navies1	Armies2	Air Forces3
Admiral of the Fleet	Field Marshal	Marshal of the Air Force
Admiral	General	Air Chief Marshal
Vice Admiral	Lt. General	Air Marshal
Rear Admiral	Major General	Air Vice-Marshal
Commodore	Brigadier	Air Commodore
Captain	Colonel	Group Captain
Commander	Lt. Colonel	Wing Commander
Lt. Commander	Major	Squadron Leader
Lieutenant	Captain	Flight Lieutenant
Sub-Lieutenant	Lieutenant	Flying Officer
Warrant Officer	Sergeant Major	Warrant Officer
Petty Officer	Sergeant	Sergeant
Leading Rate	Corporal	Corporal
Seaman	Private	Aircraftman
1 in the English-speaking world          2 also some Air Forces 3 In many Commonwealth countries

	Ratings and Other Ranks of the British Armed Forces
	OR-1	OR-2	OR-3	OR-4	OR-5/OR-6	OR-7	OR-8	OR-9
Royal Navy:		AB		LH	PO	CPO	WO2	WO1
Royal Marines:		Mne	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	CSgt	WO2	WO1
Army:	Pte	Pte	LCpl	Cpl	Sgt	SSgt / CSgt	WO2	WO1
Royal Air Force:	AC	LAC - SAC - Jnr Tech		Cpl	Sgt	Chf Tech - Flt Sgt		WO / MAcr

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