Ranks
The original Royal Canadian Air Force used a rank structure similar to that of the Royal Air Force, with the exceptions, in the enlisted ranks, of the RCAF having the ranks of Warrant Officer 1 and 2, not having the ranks of Senior Aircraftman or Junior Technician, and not distinguishing between aircrew and non-aircrew for Sergeants and above. The rank structure is almost identical to that of the Royal Australian Air Force, once again with the exception of Warrant Officer 2. RCAF Women's Division personnel used a different rank structure. When the age limit for BCATP aircrew recruits was lowered to seventeen in 1941, the recruits were placed into the temporary rank of "Boy" until they reached their eighteenth birthday and became eligible for flying training. The current RCAF uses the army-style ranks instituted by the Canadian Forces when unification took place in 1968.
This chart compares ranks of the former and current RCAF. Ranks are listed with the most senior rank at the top.
| Royal Canadian Air Force (to 1968) | Canadian Forces (1968–1975) Canadian Forces Air Command (1975–2011) Royal Canadian Air Force (from 2011) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Air Chief Marshal / A/C/M | General / Gen | |
| Air Marshal / A/M | Lieutenant General / LGen | |
| Air Vice-Marshal / A/V/M | Major General / MGen | |
| Air Commodore / A/C | Brigadier General / BGen | |
| Group Captain / G/C | Colonel / Col | |
| Wing Commander / W/C | Lieutenant Colonel / LCol | |
| Squadron Leader / S/L | Major / Maj | |
| Flight Lieutenant / F/L | Captain / Capt | |
| Flying Officer / F/O | Lieutenant / Lt | |
| Pilot Officer / P/O | Second Lieutenant / 2Lt | |
| Flight Cadet / F/C (until 1962) Officer Cadet / OCdt (after 1962) |
Officer Cadet / OCdt | |
| Warrant Officer, Class 1 / WO1 | Chief Warrant Officer / CWO | |
| Warrant Officer, Class 2 / WO2 | Master Warrant Officer / MWO | |
| Flight Sergeant / FS | Warrant Officer / WO | |
| Sergeant / Sgt | Sergeant / Sgt | |
| No Equivalent | Master Corporal / MCpl |
|
| Corporal / Cpl | Corporal / Cpl | |
| Aircraftman | Leading Aircraftman / LAC Leading Airwoman / LAW |
Private / Pte |
| Aircraftman First Class / AC1 Airwoman First Class/ AW1 |
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| Aircraftman Second Class / AC2 Airwoman Second Class/ AW2 |
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Read more about this topic: History Of The Royal Canadian Air Force, Ranks and Uniforms
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“By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead:—”
—Francis Miles Finch (1827–1907)
“A sleeping man holds in a circle around him the thread of the hours, the order of years and of worlds. He consults them instinctively upon awaking and in one second reads in them the point of the earth that he occupies, the time past until his arousal; but their ranks can be mingled or broken.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
“Next to our free political institutions, our free public-school system ranks as the greatest achievement of democratic life in America ...”
—Agnes E. Meyer (1887–1970)