- Air Commodore
Air Commodore (Air Cdre in the
RAF , AIRCDRE in theRNZAF andRAAF , A/C in the formerRCAF ) is a rank in theRoyal Air Force . [cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/structure/commissionedranks.cfm |title=Ranks and Badges of the Royal Air Force |accessdate= 2007-12-01 |year=2007 |publisher=Royal Air Force ] It ranks aboveGroup Captain and immediately belowAir Vice-Marshal , and also exists in some other Commonwealth air forces, including theIndian Air Force ,Royal Australian Air Force ,Royal New Zealand Air Force ,Sri Lankan Air Force ,Air Force of Zimbabwe , andPakistan Air Force .Air Commodore is a
1 star rank and has aNATO ranking code of OF-6, equivalent to a Commodore in theRoyal Navy or aBrigadier in theBritish Army or theRoyal Marines . Unlike these two ranks, however, it has always been a substantive rank.The equivalent rank in the
Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF),Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) (until 1968) andPrincess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) (until 1980) was Air Commandant.Origins
On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the
British Army , with officers at what is now Air Commodore holding the rank ofBrigadier-General . In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own rank titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use theRoyal Navy 's officer ranks, with the word "Air" inserted before the naval rank title. Although theAdmiralty objected to this simple modification of their rank titles, it was agreed that the RAF might base many of its officer rank titles on Navy officer ranks with differing pre-modifying terms. It was also suggested thatAir Officer ranks could be based on the term "Ardian", which was derived from a combination of the Gaelic words for "chief" ("ard") and "bird" ("eun"), with the term "Fourth Ardian" or "Flight Ardian" being used for the equivalent to Brigadier-General and Commodore. However, the rank title based on the Navy rank was preferred and Air Commodore was adopted on 1 August 1919.RAF Insignia, command flag and star plate
The rank
insignia is a light blue band on a broad black band worn on the both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform. On the mess uniform, Air Commodores wear a broad gold ring on both lower sleeves.The Command Flag of an Air Commodore is rectangular with a cut-away section. It has one narrow red band running through the centre.
The vehicle star plate for an Air Commodore depicts a single white star (Air Commodore is equivalent to a one star rank) on an air force blue background.
Honorary Air Commodores
RAF flying squadrons and stations may appoint Honorary Air Commodores. For example, Prince Charles is
RAF Valley 's Honorary Air Commodore andWinston Churchill was 615 Squadron's Honorary Air Commodore.As the title suggests, this is an honorary position bestowed by the Queen and it does not grant the recipient command of a unit or formation. It is designed to strengthen the bond between the military unit and the individual.
Other air forces
The rank of Air Commodore is also used in a number of the air forces in the Commonwealth, including the
Bangladesh Air Force ,Ghana Air Force ,Indian Air Force ,Pakistan Air Force ,Royal Australian Air Force ,Royal New Zealand Air Force andSri Lanka Air Force . It is also used in theEgyptian Air Force ,Hellenic Air Force ,Royal Air Force of Oman and theRoyal Thai Air Force . In theIndonesian Air Force the equivalent rank is "Marsekal Pertama" (literally "First Marshal") which is usually translated as Air Commodore in English.TheRoyal Canadian Air Force used the rank until the unification of theCanadian Forces in 1968, when Army-type rank titles were adopted. An Air Commodore then became aBrigadier-General (following the U.S. title, rather than the BritishBrigadier , which had been held by equivalent officers in the formerCanadian Army ). In official French Canadian usage, the rank title was "commodore de l'air".The
Royal Netherlands Air Force 's equivalent rank is Commodore which has essentially the same rank insignia.See also
*
RAF officer ranks
*Ranks of the RAAF
*Air force officer rank insignia
*Comparative military ranks References
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