Pilot officer

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Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. [1] The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.

Contents

Pilot officer is the lowest ranking commissioned officer immediately below flying officer. It is usually equivalent to the rank of second lieutenant in other services.

The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) was "assistant section officer".

Canada

The rank was used in the Royal Canadian Air Force until the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, when army-type rank titles were adopted. Canadian pilot officers then became second lieutenants. In official Canadian French usage, the rank title was sous-lieutenant d'aviation. [2]

United Kingdom

Pilot officer
British RAF OF-1a.svg
Shoulder and sleeve insignia
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Service branchEnsign of the Royal Air Force.svg  Royal Air Force
AbbreviationPlt Off / PLTOFF
NATO rank code OF-1
FormationAugust 1919 (1919-08) (RAF)
Next higher rank Flying officer
Next lower rank Acting pilot officer
Equivalent ranks
Related articles
History Royal Naval Air Service

Origins

In the Royal Flying Corps, officers were designated pilot officers at the end of pilot training. As they retained their commissions in their customary ranks (usually second lieutenant or lieutenant), and many of them had been seconded from their ground units, the designation of pilot officer was a position title rather than a rank.

On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army, with Royal Flying Corps second lieutenants becoming second lieutenants in the RAF. Consideration was given to renaming second lieutenants as ensigns. However, when the RAF's own rank structure was introduced in August 1919, RAF second lieutenants who were qualified pilots[ citation needed ] were re-designated as pilot officers, a rank which has been in continuous use ever since. Those who were not qualified pilots were redesignated observer officers, but this was later phased out and all officers of this rank became pilot officers.

RAF usage

The rank of pilot officer does not imply that the officer is aircrew. Following reforms to the Royal Air Force's promotion system, wherein previously, university graduates passed out of RAF Cranwell at a higher substantive rank than their non-graduate peers, pilot officer rank is now only applicable to ground branches. Aircrew and engineers receive their commissions as flying officers and skip the rank altogether. [3] A ground branch officer will remain in the pilot officer rank for six months following commissioning, before an automatic promotion to flying officer. Because of the nature of phase II training (professional training after the phase I initial officer training), a pilot officer will generally spend time in rank on a further training course, and is not likely to be operationally active.

Some students in the University Air Squadrons are promoted to the rank of acting pilot officer (which includes a week-long course at RAF Cranwell) as part of the leadership element of their squadron. UAS students wear pilot officer rank insignia with officer's headdress and are commissioned into the Volunteer Reserve. Pilot officers are more likely to be found in the CCF and Air Training Corps organisations of the VR(T) branch, because they are likely to spend far longer in rank than those serving in the RAF.

Insignia

The rank insignia consists of a thin blue band on slightly wider black band. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform.

Although no current Royal Navy rank has an insignia of a single half width ring, a pilot officer's mess insignia of one thin band of gold running around each cuff is similar to the insignia formerly worn by Royal Navy warrant officers. As with the mess insignia for other RAF officer ranks, the band of gold does not have the Royal Navy's loop.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acting pilot officer</span>

Acting pilot officer is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force. Acting pilot officer is not an actual military rank, therefore acting pilot officers are regraded to pilot officer instead of receiving a promotion. Unlike other RAF ranks which officers may hold in an acting capacity, acting pilot officer is maintained as a separate grade. The grade normally denotes an officer who has recently been commissioned and joined as a non-graduate direct entrant.

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The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch), often abbreviated to RAFVR(T), was a Volunteer Reserve element of the Royal Air Force specifically appointed in a cadet training role within the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Members of the RAFVR(T) had no call-up liability and often operated part-time with the Air Experience Flights and Volunteer Gliding Squadrons, which provide flight experience for the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uniforms of the Royal Air Force</span> Standardised military dress

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Air Force College Cranwell</span> Royal Air Force training and education academy

The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is responsible for all RAF recruiting along with officer and aircrew selection. Originally established as a naval aviation training centre during World War I, the College was established as the world's first air academy in 1919. During World War II, the College was closed and its facilities were used as a flying training school. Reopening after the War, the College absorbed the Royal Air Force Technical College in 1966.

References

  1. ↑ "Ranks and Badges of the Royal Air Force". Royal Air Force. 2007. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2007.
  2. ↑ "The RCAF". www.castlearchdale.net. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Aircrew In Service Degree". Joomag. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Badges of rank" (PDF). defence.gov.au. Department of Defence (Australia) . Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "OFFICER'S RANKS". joinbangladeshairforce.mil.bd. Archived from the original on 19 February 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "Rank Structure". gafonline.mil.gh. Ghana Air Force. 2018. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  7. ↑ "For Officers". careerairforce.nic.in. Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "Government Notice" (PDF). Government Gazette of the Republic of Namibia. Vol. 4547. 20 August 2010. pp. 99–102. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  9. ↑ Smaldone, Joseph P. (1992). "National Security". In Metz, Helen Chapin (ed.). Nigeria: a country study. Area Handbook (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. pp. 296–297. LCCN   92009026 . Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  10. ↑ "Commissioned Officers". airforce.lk. Sri Lanka Air Force. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "RAF Ranks". raf.mod.uk/. Royal Air Force . Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  12. ↑ "Rank Chart (Commissioned Officers)". 69.0.195.188. Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
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