Aircraftman (AC), or Aircraftwoman (ACW), is the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries.
Aircraftman ranks below Leading Aircraftman and has a NATO rank code of OR-1. It is presently a training rank only and no airmen in productive service hold this rank. Aircraftman do not wear any rank insignia.
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The rank was introduced on the formation of the RAF in 1918, replacing the Royal Flying Corps rank of Air Mechanic 2nd Class. There were two grades: Aircraftman 1st Class (AC1) and Aircraftman 2nd Class (AC2; also colloquially known as an "AC plonk").
In the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the rank is known as "Aircraftsman", regardless of the person's sex, in line with Seaman in the Royal New Zealand Navy.
In RAF slang, Aircraftmen are sometimes called "erks". The word "erk" is perhaps a phonetic spelling of an East Londoner's pronunciation of the abbreviation, "airc".
The spelling "Aircraftsman", despite being seen even in official documents, is incorrect in the RAF.
In the RAF, there are three main ranks of Aircraftmen. Aircraftmen, Leading Aircraftmen and Senior Aircraftmen. An airman/airwoman would start as an Aircraftmen. The three ranks are also known as 'AC' for Aircraftmen, 'LAC' for Leading Aircraftman, and 'SAC' for Senior Aircraftman.
Aircraftmen do not have a insignia. When they are promoted, they receive the rank of Leading Aircraftman, and are given an insignia. It is a picture of a two-bladed propeller in a straight line. Once they are Senior Aircaftmen, they receive three propeller blades, all equally spaced apart.
In the Royal Air Force, there is an extra rank given to technicians. It is called Junior Technician or Senior Aircraftman Technician. It has either a four-bladed propeller on its insignia, equally spaced, or three blades and a circle.
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