Sturmbannführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank equivalent to major that was used in several Nazi organizations, such as the SA, SS, and the NSFK. Translated as “assault (or storm) unit leader” (Sturmbann being the SA and early SS equivalent to a battalion), the rank originated from German shock troop units of the First World War where the title of sturmbannführer would occasionally be held by the battalion commander.
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The SA title of sturmbannführer was first established in 1921. In 1928, the title became an actual rank and was also one of the first established SS ranks. The insignia of a sturmbannführer was four silver pips centered on a collar patch.
The rank rated below standartenführer until 1932, when sturmbannführer became subordinate to the new rank of obersturmbannführer. In the Waffen-SS, sturmbannführer was considered equivalent to a major in the German Wehrmacht.
One of the most notable recipients of the title was Dr. Wernher von Braun, who developed the V2 Rocket, and later designed the Saturn V rocket for the U.S.. Also:
The rank of sturmbannführer appears frequently in fiction, as in the novel Fatherland where the protagonist, Xavier March, is a sturmbannführer in the Kriminalpolizei.
Cinematically, in The Keep (1983), Gabriel Byrne portrays SS-Sturmbannführer Kaempffer, head of an SS-Einsatzkommando.
In Apt Pupil, Ian McKellen portrays Sturmbannführer Kurt Dussander, a former Nazi concentration camp officer.
In the manga Hellsing, the main antagonist is Sturmbannführer Major Montana Max.
In the BBC TV series Secret Army, Clifford Rose portrays Sturmbannführer Kessler, of the Gestapo and, in the BBC series, 'Allo 'Allo, Gestapo agent Herr Otto Flick bears the rank, as does Major Hochstetter of Hogan's Heroes.
Moreover, in the Medal of Honor videogame series, Sturmbannführer Ratter is a recurring antagonist; once, in a secret level in Medal of Honor: Underground, once at Dorne Manor, in Holland, in Medal of Honor: Frontline, and once at the Steinberg salt mine in Alt Aussee, Austria, in the original Medal of Honor game.
In 2008 Success SRPG Operation Darkness, the main villain Alexander Vlado carries the rank of sturmbannführer.
In Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, the character Major Hellstrom carries the rank of sturmbannführer.
In the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, one of the villains, Arnold Toht, carries the rank of sturmbannführer.
In the 1968 World War II film Where Eagles Dare, the character Major Von Hapen is a sturmbannführer and member of Gestapo.
In the Motörhead song "Death or Glory", Lemmy Kilmister sings the line: "I was a sturmbannführer fighting in Berlin".
| Junior rank Hauptsturmführer |
SS rank Sturmbannführer |
Senior rank Obersturmbannführer |
| Junior rank Sturmhauptführer |
SA rank Sturmbannführer |
Senior rank Obersturmbannführer |