Sturmbannführer

Sturmbannführer (German: [ˈʃtʊʁmbanˌfyːʁɐ]; lit. 'assault unit leader'[1]) was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major[2] that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. The rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War.

Max Hansen, Sturmbannführer of the Waffen-SS

Sturmbannführer
SS Gorget patches
Country	Nazi Germany
Service branch	Schutzstaffel Sturmabteilung National Socialist Motor Corps National Socialist Flyers Corps
Abbreviation	Stubaf
NATO rank code	OF-3
Formation	1921
Abolished	1945
Next higher rank	Obersturmbannführer
Next lower rank	Hauptsturmführer
Equivalent ranks	Major

The SA title of Sturmbannführer was first established in 1921. In 1928, the title became an actual rank and was also one of the first established SS ranks.[3] The insignia of a Sturmbannführer was four silver pips centered on a collar patch.[2] The rank rated below Standartenführer until 1932, when Sturmbannführer became subordinate to the new rank of Obersturmbannführer.[3] In the Waffen-SS, Sturmbannführer was considered equivalent to a major in the German Wehrmacht.[4]

Various Waffen-SS units composed of foreign recruits were considered distinct from the German SS, and thus they were not permitted to wear SS runes on their collar tabs but had their divisional insignia instead. Their ranks were also prepended with "Waffen" instead of "SS", as in, Waffen-Sturmbannführer.[5]

The rank was held by Wernher von Braun, who developed the V-2 rocket, and later designed the Saturn V rocket for the U.S. space program. Other rank holders included Eberhard Heder, Otto Günsche,[6] and war criminals, such as Otto Förschner, who was the commandant of Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp.