Talk:RAF officer ranks
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[edit] Rank Abbreviations for Air Chief Marshals and Air Marshals
In the short time this page has been in exisitance, the abbreviations Air Chf Mshl and ACM, along with Air Mshl and AM have been shown. The RAF web page on ranks [1] lists Air Chf Mshl and Air Mshl as the rank abbreviations although I have seen ACM and AM used. Accordingly I have edited the article to show both abbreviations for each rank. 88.105.136.215 19:45, 4 December 2005 (UTC)
- I have never, ever seen any abbreviation other than ACM and AM actually used for Air Chief Marshal and Air Marshal in a service context, whatever the website may say. Just as Flying Officer and Pilot Officer are in reality usually abbreviated F/O and P/O (although in those cases I have seen both forms used). I think there's a danger of relying too much on websites, which are usually compiled by public information people with little actual experience of reality. -- Necrothesp 00:33, 5 December 2005 (UTC)
Googling "air chf mshl" returns 86 hits including the Veterans Agency, RAF Cranwell and the Central Flying School's websites. The Joint Service Staff Manual – Defence Writing lists the same abbreviations as website quoted above. 88.105.142.36 23:25, 7 December 2005 (UTC)
- Googling ACM and "Air Chief Marshal" returns 583 hits, including the RAF website, the MOD website and RAF Web. It appears both are used, although I think most military historians would agree that ACM/AM are more common. -- Necrothesp 11:06, 8 December 2005 (UTC)
The official (service writing) abbreviations for RAF officer ranks are in the format Plt Off, Fg Off, Flt Lt, etc. The official abbreviation for an Air Chief Marshal is, as stated at the top of the page, Air Chf Mshl, not ACM. However, these service writing conventions have only been in place to my knowledge since the 1960s/70s. It is certainly true that, if you refer to documents from, say, the Second World War, you will see the P/O, F/O, S/L, AVM convention used frequently. Incidentally, I don't know if I've missed a point here but the table at the bottom of the main article seems to have a few errors. The 2nd Lt/Plt Off rank is missing, as is the CPO/C Sgt/Flt Sgt one. The army equivalent for the RN/RAF WO is shown as Sergeant Major. Of course, Sergeant Major is an appointment, not a rank. The army has two classes of WO - WO2 and WO1. In infantry regiments a Company Sergeant Major (CSM) will typically hold the rank of WO2 and a Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) that of WO1.Garryhunt (talk) 21:38, 28 May 2008 (UTC)
[edit] RFC & RNAS
Could anybody create pages for the rank insignia of the RFC and RNAS, both officers and other ranks. This would show the 'evolution' of the RAF rank structure in a much more visual way. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.97.141.99 (talk) 00:59, 2 September 2007 (UTC)
