Flight sergeant

Flight sergeant (commonly abbreviated to Flt Sgt, F/Sgt, FSGT or, currently correctly in the RAF, FS[1]) is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force[2] and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure. It is equivalent to a staff sergeant or colour sergeant in the British Army, a colour sergeant in the Royal Marines, and a chief petty officer in the Royal Navy, and has a NATO rank code of OR-7.[3] In the RAF, flight sergeant ranks above chief technician and below warrant officer.

Comparative military ranks
Armies,
air forces
(non-Commonwealth),
space forces		 Navies,
coast guard		 Air forces
(Commonwealth system)
Flag commissioned officers
Field marshal or
general of the army or
general of the air force		 Admiral of
the fleet or
grand admiral		 Marshal of the air force
General or
colonel general or
army general		 Admiral or
general admiral		 Air chief marshal
Lieutenant general or
army corps general		 Vice admiral Air marshal
Major general or
divisional general		 Rear admiral or
Counter admiral		 Air vice-marshal
Brigadier or
brigadier general		 Commodore or
flotilla admiral		 Air commodore
Senior commissioned officers
Colonel Captain Group captain
Lieutenant colonel Commander Wing commander
Major or
commandant		 Lieutenant
commander		 Squadron leader
Junior commissioned officers
Captain Lieutenant Flight lieutenant
Lieutenant or
first lieutenant		 Lieutenant
junior grade or
sub-lieutenant		 Flying officer
Second lieutenant or
junior lieutenant		 Ensign or
midshipman		 Pilot officer
Officer cadet Officer cadet Flight cadet
Non-commissioned officers
Warrant officer or
sergeant major		 Warrant officer or
chief petty officer		 Warrant officer
Sergeant Petty officer Sergeant
Enlisted ranks
Corporal or
bombardier or
specialist		 Leading seaman Corporal or leading aircraftman
Private or
gunner or
trooper or
sapper		 Seaman Aircraftman or
airman or
aviator
A Royal Air Force flight sergeant

History

The rank was introduced into the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in 1912 and passed to the Royal Air Force on its formation in 1918. RFC flight sergeants wore a four-bladed propeller between the chevrons and the crown.

On 1 July 1946, aircrew flight sergeants were redesignated aircrew I and replaced their chevrons with three six-pointed stars within a wreath and surmounted by an eagle and a crown. This proved unpopular however, and in 1950 they reverted to their old rank and badge, although flight sergeants aircrew wear an eagle between chevrons and crown.

Between 1950 and 1964, the rank of chief technician was equivalent to flight sergeant and was held instead of that rank by technicians, but now chief technician is a junior rank[4] (still held only by technicians), although classified by NATO in the same grade.

Current usage

Apart from the RAF, the rank of flight sergeant is also used by many Commonwealth air forces, including the Royal Australian Air Force,[5] the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the Sri Lanka Air Force,[6] the Ghana Air Force, the South African Air Force[7] and the Air Force of Zimbabwe.[8] It was also used in the former Royal Rhodesian Air Force. In Canada, since the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, this rank has been replaced by warrant officer. It is also used in the Irish Air Corps, where it is equivalent to the Irish Army rank of company sergeant. The flight sergeant rank in the Indian Air Force was replaced with the rank of junior warrant officer (JWO), which ranks below a warrant officer and above a sergeant.

In the RAF, the rank insignia is three downward pointing chevrons below a crown.[9]

Flight sergeant is also used in many cadet organisations around the world, such as the Royal Air Force Air Cadets,[10] Australian Air Force Cadets,[11] and Royal Canadian Air Cadets.[12]

Rank insignia

See also

References
  1. "MOD Acronyms and Abbreviations" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Government Publishing Service. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  2. "RAF Ranks". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  3. "Key to Rank codes April 2019". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  4. "RAF rank seniority". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. "RAAF Ranks". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  6. "Sri Lanka Air Force". www.airforce.lk. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  7. "The South African Air Force". www.saairforce.co.za. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  8. "Ranks and Badges in the AFZ". Air Force of Zimbabwe Website. Air Force of Zimbabwe. 2020. Archived from the original on 13 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  9. "RAF Rank Insignia". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  10. "RAFAC Ranks". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  11. "AAFC Ranks". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  12. "Cadet Ranks". 364 Lancaster Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  13. "Badges of rank" (PDF). defence.gov.au. Department of Defence (Australia). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  14. "Air Corps Rank Markings". military.ie. Defence Forces (Ireland). Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  15. "Badges of Rank". nzdf.mil.nz. New Zealand Defence Force. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  16. "Rank Insignia". af.mil.za. Department of Defence (South Africa). Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  17. "Non-Commissioned Ranks". airforce.lk. Sri Lanka Air Force. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  18. "RAF Ranks". raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
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