Wing commander (rank)


Wing commander is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical British influence, including many Commonwealth countries but not including Canada and South Africa. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. It ranks immediately above squadron leader and immediately below group captain.
It has a NATO ranking code of OF-4, and is equivalent to commander in the Royal and United States Navies, as well as to lieutenant colonel in the British Army, the Royal Marines, the United States Army, Air Force and Marine Corps. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Women's Royal Air Force and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service was wing officer. The equivalent rank in the Royal Observer Corps was observer commander which had a similar rank insignia.

Origins

With the Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps adopting the name of Royal Naval Air Service on 1 July 1914, the Naval Air Service adopted appointments in addition to the naval ranks. Pilots wore insignia according to the appointment, not their rank. One of the appointments was wing commander, holding the rank of commander.
On 1 April 1918, the newly created British Royal Air Force did not initially adopt a new rank structure, with personnel continuing their prior services' rank and uniform. There were some changes in ranks but it was inconstant. In 1920, the RAF began using the rank of wing commander.

Usage

In the early years of the RAF, a wing commander commanded a flying wing, typically a group of three or four aircraft squadrons. In current usage a wing commander is more likely to command a wing which is an administrative sub-division of an RAF station. A flying squadron is normally commanded by a wing commander but is occasionally commanded by a squadron leader for small units. In the Air Training Corps, a wing commander is usually the officer commanding of a wing.

Insignia and command flag

The rank insignia is based on the three gold bands of commanders in the Royal Navy and consists of three narrow light blue bands over slightly wider black bands. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulder of the flying suit or the casual uniform.
The command pennant is two triangular command pennants used in the RAF. Two thin red lines differentiate this one from the other.
During 1941-45 RAF Fighter Command's wing leaders were also allowed to use their own initials as aircraft identification letters on their personal aircraft, e.g., Wing Commander Roland Beamont's personal Hawker Tempest, JN751, was coded "R-B", Wing Commander John Robert Baldwin's personal Hawker Typhoon was coded "J-B".

Other air forces

The rank of wing commander is also used in a number of the air forces in the Commonwealth, including the Bangladesh Air Force, Ghana Air Force, Nigerian Air Force, Indian Air Force, Namibian Air Force, Pakistan Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the Sri Lankan Air Force. It is also used in the Egyptian Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Royal Air Force of Oman and the Royal Thai Air Force. The Royal Malaysian Air Force used the rank until it was retitled as that of lieutenant colonel in 1973, with the same rank insignia.

Royal Canadian Air Force

The Royal Canadian Air Force used the rank until the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, when army-type rank titles were adopted. A Canadian wing commander then became a lieutenant colonel. In official French Canadian usage, a wing commander's rank title was lieutenant-colonel d'aviation. The rank of wing commander continues to be used as a cadet rank at the Royal Military College of Canada.
In the 1990s, the Canadian Forces Air Command altered the structure of those bases under its control, redesignating them as wings. The commander of such an establishment was re-designated as the "wing commander". Like the United States Air Force usage, the term "wing commander" is an appointment, not a rank. A wing commander usually holds the rank of colonel.

United States Air Force

In the United States Air Force wing commander is a duty title, not a rank. The equivalent USAF rank is lieutenant colonel who typically has command of a squadron. Because USAF wings are larger formations than RAF wings, the commander of a wing must hold at least the rank of colonel, and is typically a colonel or a brigadier general. The one exception to this is the commander of the 59th Medical Wing who is customarily a major general.

Civil Air Patrol (United States Air Force Auxiliary)

The Civil Air Patrol, the volunteer auxiliary of the USAF, follows the USAF rank structure. The CAP divides the nation into 52 wings. Each wing is headed by a CAP colonel, who holds the position of wing commander.

Notable wing commanders