Ranks and insignia of Royal Danish Air Force

Summary

The Royal Danish Air Force ranks follow the NATO system of ranks and insignia, as does the rest of the Danish Defence. The ranks used are based on the Royal Air Force, with some minor changes. For example, three strips in the RAF is an OF-4, while only an OF-3 in Denmark.[1]

Current ranks edit

Officers edit

The highest officer's rank is OF-9 (General) which is reserved for the Chief of Defence (only when this seat is occupied by an Air Force officer). Similarly, OF-8 (Lieutenant general) is reserved for the Vice Chief of Defence. OF-7 (Major general) is used by the chief of the Air Staff and OF-6 (Brigadegeneral) by the chief of a brigade as well as keepers of high-office positions.

NATO code OF-10 OF-9 OF-8 OF-7 OF-6 OF-5 OF-4 OF-3 OF-2 OF-1 OF(D) Student officer
  Royal Danish Air Force[2]
                       
General Generalløjtnant Generalmajor Brigadegeneral Oberst Oberstløjtnant Major Kaptajn Premierløjtnant Løjtnant Sekondløjtnant Sergent
(Officerselev)
Shirt insignia                        
Danish Pay Grade[3] M406 M405 M404 M403 M402 M401 M332
M331
M322
M321 M312 M311 M310

Other ranks edit

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.

NATO code OR-9 OR-8 OR-7 OR-6 OR-5 OR-4 OR-3 OR-2 OR-1
  Royal Danish Air Force[2]
                 
Chefsergent Seniorsergent Oversergent Sergent Sergent
(Officerselev)
Korporal Flyverspecialist Flyveroverkonstabel Flyverkonstabel
Shoulder board                  
Danish Pay Grade[3] M232 M231 M221 M212 M211 M113 M112

Additional ranks edit

NATO Code OR-9 OR-8 OR-5 OR-1
Service uniform      
Shoulder board            
Danish[2] Flyvevåbnets Chefsergent Myndighedschefsergent/
Wingchefsergent
Myndighedsbefalingsmand/
Eskadrillebefalingsmand/
Afdelingsbefalingsmand
Befalingsmandselev Flyverkonstabelelev Værnepligtig menig
English Chief Master Sergeant of the Royal Danish Air Force Wing Command Senior
Enlisted Leader
Squadron Command Senior
Enlisted Leader
Sergeant trainee Aircraftman, trainee Conscript
Colour structure for OR-1–3
Technical Administrations Operations
Shoulder board      

Clerical personnel edit

Historical ranks edit

Officer ranks edit

Rank group General/Flag/Air officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet
1950–1951                  
General Generalløjtnant Generalmajor Oberst Oberstløjtnant Kaptajn Kaptajnløjtnant Flyverløjtnant 1 Flyverløjtnant 2
?–?[4]                  
General Generalløjtnant Generalmajor Oberst Oberstløjtnant Kaptajn Kaptajnløjtnant Flyverløjtnant 1 Flyverløjtnant 2
?–?[5]                    
General Generalløjtnant Generalmajor Oberst Oberstløjtnant Kaptajn Kaptajnløjtnant Premierløjtnant Løjtnant Sekondløjtnant
1983–?                    
General Generalløjtnant Generalmajor Brigadegeneral Oberst Oberstløjtnant Major Kaptajn Premierløjtnant Løjtnant

Other ranks edit

Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted
1959–1962[6]                
Overfenrik Fenrik Oversergent Sergent Korporal Flyverelev Math Mathelev
1965–1989[7]                  
Seniorsergent af 1. grad Seniorsergent af 2. grad Oversergent Sergent Sergent
(conscipted)
Korporal Korporal
(conscipted)
Overkonstabel af 1. grad Overkonstabel af 2. grad Konstabel

References edit

  1. ^ Marrup, Karsten (1 May 2017). "Stop galskaben med midlertidige tillagte grader!" [Stop the madness with temporary added ranks!]. OLFI (in Danish). Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Flyvevåbnets Gradstegn" (PDF). forsvaret.dk (in Danish). Danish Defence. October 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Historik" [History]. forpers.dk (in Danish). Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  4. ^ Møller, N. Olaf (1956). "Flyvevåbnets Gredstegn M.V." (in Danish). Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  5. ^ Chief of the Army (1971). "Gradstegn m.v. for personel af Flyvevåbnet og Flyverhjemmeværnet". Grundbog for Hærens menige: HRN 212-10 (in Danish). Copenhagen: S. L. Møllers Bogtrykkeri. p. 266. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  6. ^ United States Department of the Army (1962). "Military Uniforms - DA Pam 355-120 - 1959 to 1962 - Part 2". Archive.org. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  7. ^ Davis, Brian L. (1988). NATO Forces: An Illustrated Reference to Their Organization and Insignia. Blandford Press. pp. 72–73. ISBN 0-7137-1737-8. Retrieved 11 April 2022.

External links edit

  • "Flyvevåbnets gradstegn" (PDF). forsvaret.dk (in Danish). Danish Defence. October 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  • "Badges and Insignia of the Danish Air Force" (PDF). forsvaret.dk. Danish Defence. November 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.