RAF Ranks

[milly143]

Can someone tell me all the ranks, i.e. Officer, Sgt for the RAF from the lowest to the highest, please.

[poodicat]

Thanks skids were you in the raf?

[raymondo]

Hi one and all especially mike11111. In the main everyone thinks that their trade was top of the tree but if there were no aircraft and no one to fly/maintain them, there would have been no need for admin staff, even the ones that cheated the system at the expense of others. Therefore using this analogy, the top trade was Pilot and then anything to do with aircraft and not the other way round.
I served 30 year in the RAF and for a start the term brat only referred to Halton Aircraft Apprentices (A/A). The full term was Trenchard Brat named after our founder Lord Trenchard. A/As did 3 years training and graduated as a Junior Technician (J/T), far superior to the SAC rank. I know the JT training was reduced over the years but that was after my time.
To clarify an administrator’s idea of equivalent ranks, a Chief Technician was far superior to a Sergeant (Sgt), why else would he/she need to take another exam and have to wait a prescribed time from Sgt.
There was also a Master Technician who looked in almost every respect the same as a WO but his arm badge was larger.
Some reader may not be aware that there was a time when there was Command and Technical ranks running in tandem. Pre 1965 the command ranks were Cpl, Sgt, Flt Sgt and Warrant Officer (W.O). The technical ranks were JT, Cpl Tech, Senior Tech, Chief Tech and Master. When there was to be someone in charge the Command rank took president if the task was none technical, i.e. getting blokes from a to b, but a Technical rank would be in charge if it was anything to do with Aircraft, Radar, Radio etc.
The Technical ranks were denoted by having chevrons upside down, a JT had one, a Cpl Tech had 2, a Senior Tech had 3 and a Chf Tech who also had 3 had a crown above it. The command rank, which was Cpl. Sgt and Flt Sgt, was given on ability without exams whilst the technical ranks always had to be attained by exams and time served in the lower rank.
The technical r

[raymondo]

Hi one and all especially mike11111. In the main everyone thinks that their trade was top of the tree but if there were no aircraft and no one to fly/maintain them, there would have been no need for admin staff, even the ones that cheated the system at the expense of others. Therefore using this analogy, the top trade was Pilot and then anything to do with aircraft and not the other way round.
I served 30 year in the RAF and for a start the term brat only referred to Halton Aircraft Apprentices (A/A). The full term was Trenchard Brat named after our founder Lord Trenchard. A/As did 3 years training and graduated as a Junior Technician (J/T), far superior to the SAC rank. I know the JT training was reduced over the years but that was after my time.
To clarify an administrator’s idea of equivalent ranks, a Chief Technician was far superior to a Sergeant (Sgt), why else would he/she need to take another exam and have to wait a prescribed time from Sgt.
There was also a Master Technician who looked in almost every respect the same as a WO but his arm badge was larger.
Some reader may not be aware that there was a time when there was Command and Technical ranks running in tandem. Pre 1965 the command ranks were Cpl, Sgt, Flt Sgt and Warrant Officer (W.O). The technical ranks were JT, Cpl Tech, Senior Tech, Chief Tech and Master. When there was to be someone in charge the Command rank took president if the task was none technical, i.e. getting blokes from a to b, but a Technical rank would be in charge if it was anything to do with Aircraft, Radar, Radio etc.
The Technical ranks were denoted by having chevrons upside down, a JT had one, a Cpl Tech had 2, a Senior Tech had 3 and a Chf Tech who also had 3 had a crown above it. The command rank, which was Cpl. Sgt and Flt Sgt, was given on ability without exams whilst the technical ranks always had to be attained by exams and time served in the lower rank.
The technical r

[raymondo]

Hi one and all especially mike11111. In the main everyone thinks that their trade was top of the tree but if there were no aircraft and no one to fly/maintain them, there would have been no need for admin staff, even the ones that cheated the system at the expense of others. Therefore using this analogy, the top trade was Pilot and then anything to do with aircraft and not the other way round.
I served 30 year in the RAF and for a start the term brat only referred to Halton Aircraft Apprentices (A/A). The full term was Trenchard Brat named after our founder Lord Trenchard. A/As did 3 years training and graduated as a Junior Technician (J/T), far superior to the SAC rank. I know the JT training was reduced over the years but that was after my time.
To clarify an administrator’s idea of equivalent ranks, a Chief Technician was far superior to a Sergeant (Sgt), why else would he/she need to take another exam and have to wait a prescribed time from Sgt.
There was also a Master Technician who looked in almost every respect the same as a WO but his arm badge was larger.
Some reader may not be aware that there was a time when there was Command and Technical ranks running in tandem. Pre 1965 the command ranks were Cpl, Sgt, Flt Sgt and Warrant Officer (W.O). The technical ranks were JT, Cpl Tech, Senior Tech, Chief Tech and Master. When there was to be someone in charge the Command rank took president if the task was none technical, i.e. getting blokes from a to b, but a Technical rank would be in charge if it was anything to do with Aircraft, Radar, Radio etc.
The Technical ranks were denoted by having chevrons upside down, a JT had one, a Cpl Tech had 2, a Senior Tech had 3 and a Chf Tech who also had 3 had a crown above it. The command rank, which was Cpl. Sgt and Flt Sgt, was given on ability without exams whilst the technical ranks always had to be attained by exams and time served in the lower rank.
The technical r

[dotty.]

yeah you left out SAC and JT, my ex was the first when we married and the second when he came out

[anneasquith]

dotty, no disrespect ,,,but that sounds very painful for your ex. lol

[dotty.]

well as it happens it was, he'd done his 12 years and maggie thatcher was cutting costs and wouldn't let him sign for his 22, but then 6 months later after he was out he gets and invite to go back, only cos the argies had landed on port stanley and he was a JT on Vulcans lol he told em to stick it