Aircraftman

NaviesArmiesAir forces
Commissioned and Non-commissioned officers
Admiral of
the fleet		Marshal or
Field marshal 		Marshal of
the air force
AdmiralGeneralAir chief marshal
Vice admiralLieutenant generalAir marshal
Rear admiralMajor generalAir vice-marshal
CommodoreBrigadier or
Brigadier general		Air commodore
CaptainColonelGroup captain
CommanderLieutenant colonelWing commander
Lieutenant
commander		Major or
Commandant		Squadron leader
LieutenantCaptainFlight lieutenant
Sub-lieutenantLieutenant or
First lieutenant		Flying officer
EnsignSecond lieutenantPilot officer
MidshipmanOfficer cadetFlight cadet
Enlisted grades
Warrant officer or
Chief petty officer		Warrant officer or
Sergeant major		Warrant officer
Petty officerSergeantSergeant
Leading seamanCorporalCorporal
SeamanPrivateAircraftman

Aircraftman (AC) or aircraftwoman (ACW)[1][2] is the lowest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries.

Aircraftman ranks below leading aircraftman and has a NATO rank code of OR-1. It is now a training rank only and no airmen in productive service hold this rank. Aircraftmen do not wear any rank insignia.

History

The rank was introduced on the formation of the RAF in 1918, replacing the Royal Flying Corps rank of air mechanic 2nd class. There were two grades: Aircraftman 1st class (AC1) and aircraftman 2nd class (AC2; also colloquially known as an "AC plonk").

Royal Air Force

In RAF slang, aircraftmen are sometimes called "erks".

Royal Canadian Air Force

In the Royal Canadian Air Force, the rank is known as "aviator". This was changed from private in spring 2015 when the RCAF changed the colour of its rank insignia from gold to pearl grey. It is the lowest rank in the RCAF. Prior to 1968 the rank of aircraftman was used in the RCAF as in other Commonwealth air forces.

Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force also uses both aircraftman and aircraftwoman.

Royal New Zealand Air Force

In the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the rank is known as "aircraftman", regardless of the person's sex, in line with "seaman" in the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ RAF website
  2. ↑ The spellings "aircraftsman" and "aircraftswoman", despite being occasionally seen even in official documents, are incorrect in any air force.

See also

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 1/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.