Wing commander

"Wing Commander" redirects here. For the video game franchise, seeWing Commander(franchise).For other uses, seeWing Commander (disambiguation).

Wing commander(Wg CdrorW/C) is asenior officerrank used by some air forces, with origins from theRoyal Air Force.The rank is used by air forces of manycountries that have historical British influence.

Wing commander is immediately senior tosquadron leaderand immediately belowgroup captain.It is usually equivalent to the rank ofcommanderin the navy and of the rank oflieutenant colonelin other services.

The equivalent rank in theWomen's Auxiliary Air Forceand theWomen's Royal Air Force(until 1968) and inPrincess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service(until 1980) was wing officer. The equivalent rank in theRoyal Observer Corps(until 1995) was observer commander, which had a similar rank insignia.

Canada

See also:Canadian Armed Forces ranks and insignia

The rank was used in theRoyal Canadian Air Forceuntil the 1968unification of the Canadian Forces,when army-type rank titles were adopted. Canadian group captains then becamelieutenant colonels.In officialCanadian Frenchusage, the rank title waslieutenant-colonel d'aviation.

In the 1990s, theCanadian Forces Air Command(the post-1968 RCAF) altered the structure of thosebasesunder its control, redesignating them as wings. The commander of such an establishment was re-designated as the "wing commander" (or "Wg Comd" ). Like the United States Air Force usage, the term "wing commander" (as used in the Canadian Forces and again in the RCAF) is an appointment, not a rank. A wing commander usually holds the rank ofcolonel.

On 16 August 2011, the Government of Canada announced that the name "Air Command" was being changed to the air force's original historic name ofRoyal Canadian Air Force.Though traditional insignia for the RCAF was restored in 2015, there has been no restoration of the traditional RCAF officer rank structure that paralleled the RAF.

United Kingdom

See also:RAF officer ranks

Wing commander
Command pennant
Shoulder and sleeve insignia
Country	United Kingdom
Service branch	Royal Air Force
Abbreviation	Wg Cdr / WGCDR / W/C
NATOrank code	OF-4
Formation	August 1919(1919-08)
Next higher rank	Group captain
Next lower rank	Squadron leader
Equivalent ranks	Lieutenant colonel(Army;Marines) Commander(Navy)
Related articles
History	Royal Naval Air Service

Origins

The rank insignia of a Royal Naval Air Service wing commander

On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army, with Royal Naval Air Service captains and Royal Flying Corps colonels officially becoming colonels in the RAF. In practice, there was some inconsistency, with some former naval officers using their former ranks unofficially.In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own rank titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy's officer ranks, with the word "air" inserted before the naval rank title. For example, the rank that later became wing commander would have been "air commander". Although theAdmiraltyobjected to this simple modification of their rank titles, it was agreed that the RAF might base many of its officer rank titles on naval officer ranks with differing pre-modifying terms. It was also suggested that RAF lieutenant colonels might be entitledreevesor wing-leaders. However, the rank title wing commander was chosen aswingswere typically commanded by RAF lieutenant colonels, and the term wing commander had been used in the Royal Naval Air Service. The rank of wing commander was introduced in August 1919and has been used continuously since then.

Usage

In the early years of the RAF, a wing commander commanded a flying wing, typically a group of three or four aircraftsquadrons.In current usage a wing commander is more likely to command a wing which is an administrative sub-division of anRAF station.A flying squadron is normally commanded by a wing commander but is occasionally commanded by a squadron leader for small units. In theAir Training Corps,a wing commander is usually theofficer commandingof 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 theflight suitor 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 1941-45RAF Fighter Command's wing leaders (of wing commander rank) were also allowed to use their own initials as aircraft identification letters on their personal aircraft, e.g., Wing CommanderRoland Beamont's personalHawker Tempest,JN751,was coded "R-B", Wing CommanderJohn Robert Baldwin's personalHawker Typhoonwas coded "J-B".

• 
  An RAF wing commander's sleeve/shoulder insignia
• 
  An RAF wing commander's sleeve mess insignia
• 
  An RAF wing commander's sleeve on No. 1 service dress uniform

United States

United States Air Force

In theUnited States Air Force(USAF), a wing commander is a command billet, not a rank. The position is most often filled by acolonel(some USAF wings are commanded by abrigadier general) who typically has command of an air wing with several group commanders (also a position, not a USAF rank) reporting to him/her.

United States Navy

In theUnited States Navy(USN), a wing commander is also a command billet, not a rank. The equivalent USN rank is acaptain.Navy wing commanders are eitherNaval AviatorsorNaval Flight Officerswho typically have command of acarrier air wingor a "functional" air wing or air group such as a strike fighter wing, a patrol and reconnaissance wing, a tactical air control group, or a training air wing, with several squadron commanding officers reporting to him/her. Those officers commanding carrier air wings are called "CAG," dating back to when carrier air wings were called carrier air groups. Those officers commanding functional air wings and air groups are called"commodore."Unlike USAF, "group" commands in USN are either equal to or senior to an air wing.

Civil Air Patrol (United States Air Force Auxiliary)

TheCivil Air Patrol,the volunteer auxiliary of the USAF, follows the USAF rank structure. The CAP divides the nation into 52 wings (each corresponding to a state, territory, and District of Columbia). Each wing is headed by a CAP colonel, who holds the position of wing commander.

Gallery

• 
  (Royal Australian Air Force)
• 
  (Bangladesh Air Force)
• 
  (Ghana Air Force)
• 
  (Indian Air Force)
• 
  (Namibian Air Force)
• 
  (Nigerian Air Force)
• 
  (Pakistan Air Force)
• 
  (Sri Lanka Air Force)
  
• 
  (Royal Air Force)
• 
  (Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard)
• 
  (Air Force of Zimbabwe)

Notable wing commanders

• Douglas Bader– World War II fighter pilot and double amputee, was the first commander to lead formations of three or more squadrons during the Battle of Britain
• Roland Beamont– World War IIfighter pilotand post-war test pilot
• Abdel Latif Boghdadi– pilot in theEgyptian Air Forceturned politician
• M. Hamidullah KhanTJ, SH, BP – Fought two wars in South Asia, 1965 Indo Pak War, Bangladesh War of Independence 1971. First and thirdprovost marshaland commander of Ground Defense Command of theBangladesh Air Force.
• Pierre Clostermann– World War II fighter pilot and author ofThe Big Show
• Linda Corbould– first woman to command aRAAF flying squadron
• Roald Dahl– World War II fighter pilot, and famous novelist. His record of five aerial victories has been confirmed by post-war research and cross-referenced in Axis records. (He ended the war with the temporary rank of wing commander; substantive rank wassquadron leader)
• Roly Falk– test pilot on the maiden flight of theAvro Vulcan
• Brendan "Paddy" Finucane– top ranking RAF World War II ace with 32 kills. A native ofRathmines,Dublin, Ireland (whoemigratedto Britain with his family in 1936), he is the youngest wing commander in the history of the RAF. He was promoted to the rank in 1942 at age 21 and was shot down and killed shortly thereafter
• Preller Geldenhuys– combat pilot in theRhodesian Air Force,survivor of the Rhodesian War and author ofRhodesian Air Force Operations
• Guy Gibson– commanding officer of 617 Squadron and leader of the "Dam Busters" raid
• Andy Green– current holder of theland speed recordand first person to break the sound barrier on land
• Walter "Taffy" Holden (Holden's Lightning flight) – Commander ofNo. 33 Maintenance Unit RAF;inadvertently took off in anEnglish Electric Lightningduring ground testing; managed to land safely despite his only prior experience being with light training aircraft.
• Humphrey de Verd Leigh– inventor of theLeigh lightwhich was developed to spotlight U-boats as they surfaced at night. The Leigh light is reputedto have changed the course of the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II
• Norman Macmillan– Aviation author and pilot of the first attempt to fly around the world in 1922.
• Mervyn Middlecoat– fighter pilot who belonged to Pakistan Air Force
• Nouman Ali Khan – Wing Commander of thePakistan Air Forcewho downed anIndian Air ForceMiG-21piloted by Abhinandan Varthamanand and crashed in Pakistan administered Kashmir on 27 February 2019. He was conferred withSitar-e-Juratfor his bravery
• Abhinandan Varthaman– Wing Commander of theIndian Air Force.His aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight and he was held captive for 60 hours in Pakistan.
• Ken Wallis– World War II fighter pilot, aircraft engineer, and multiple world record holder in autogyro aircraft flight
• Adrian Warburton– legendary for his role as a reconnaissance aviator in the defence ofMalta;shot down over Germany on 12 April 1944, aged 26. It was only in 2002 that his remains were found in the wreckage of his plane
• Dennis Wheatley– the popular historical novelist and thriller writer was granted a commission and brought into Whitehall's World War II Joint Planning Staff
• Russell Williams– British-born Canadian convicted rapist and murderer and former Colonel in the Canadian Forces
• Peter Overton– A news presenter & journalist for the 9 Network Australia and 60 Minutes Australia. He is a Wing Commander in the Royal Australian Air Force as a specialist reserve public affairs officer.
• Michael Sutton OBE - led the first Typhoon deployment on operations over Iraq and Syria. The only typhoon pilot to have used the aircraft's gun in combat. Author of bestselling memoirTyphoon.
• Wing CommanderCharlotte Joanne Thompson-EdgarARRCis a British nurse. She served as the United Kingdom's Officer Commanding Medical Emergency Response Teams in Afghanistan and in 2015, while holding the rank ofSquadron Leader,was awarded anAssociate of the Royal Red Cross(ARRC) for her services to thePrincess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service.

See also

• Air force officer rank insignia
• British and U.S. military ranks compared
• Comparative military ranks
• RAF officer ranks
• Ranks of the RAAF
• Wing Commander,a popular computer game series