CleanupBot II at 22:45, 13 August 2023

2023-08-13T22:45:23Z

New page

{{short description|Junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox military rank
| name = Flying officer
| image =
| image_size = 150px
| caption = An RAF flying officer's command flag
| image2 = British RAF OF-1b.svg
| image_size2 = 100px
| caption2 = Shoulder and sleeve insignia of a flying officer from the [[Royal Air Force]]
| image3 =
| image_size3 =
| caption3 =
| country =
| service branch = [[Air force]]s
| abbreviation = Fg Off / {{smaller|FLGOFF}} / {{smaller|FGOFF}}
| rank =
| NATO rank = [[Ranks and insignia of NATO armies officers#Officers (OF 1–10)|OF-1]]
| Non-NATO rank = O-2
| formation = {{start date|1918|04|01|df=y}} ([[Royal Air Force|RAF]])
| abolished =
| higher rank = [[Flight lieutenant]]
| lower rank = [[Pilot officer]]
| equivalents = {{unbulleted list|{{nowrap|[[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|Lieutenant]] ([[British Army]]; [[Royal Marines]])}}|[[Sub-lieutenant]] ([[Royal Navy|RN]])}}
| history = [[Royal Naval Air Service]]
}}
{{Military ranks | state=expanded}}
'''Flying officer''' ('''Fg Off''' in the RAF and IAF; '''{{smaller|FLGOFF}}''' in the RAAF; '''{{smaller|FGOFF}}''' in the RNZAF; formerly '''F/O''' in all services and still frequently in the RAF) is a junior [[Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers|commissioned]] rank in the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/commissionedranks.cfm |title=Ranks and Badges of the Royal Air Force |access-date=2011-04-21 |year=2011 |publisher=[[Royal Air Force]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20110709184204/http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/commissionedranks.cfm |archive-date=9 July 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these cases a flying officer usually ranks above [[pilot officer]] and immediately below [[flight lieutenant]].


It has a [[NATO]] ranking code of OF-1 and is equivalent to a [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] in the [[British Army]] or the [[Royal Marines]]. However, it is superior to the nearest equivalent rank of [[sub-lieutenant]] in the [[Royal Navy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2001/19/contents|title=Armed Forces Act 2001|website=www.legislation.gov.uk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109110310/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2001/19/contents|archive-date=9 January 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> {{failed verification|date=December 2012}}

The equivalent rank in the [[Women's Auxiliary Air Force]] was "section officer".

==Origins==
The term "flying officer" was originally used in the [[Royal Flying Corps]] as a flying appointment for junior officers, not a rank.

On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the [[British Army]], with [[Royal Naval Air Service]] sub-lieutenants (entitled flight sub-lieutenants) and [[Royal Flying Corps]] lieutenants becoming lieutenants in the RAF. However, with the creation of the RAF's own rank structure in August 1919, RAF lieutenants were re-titled flying officers,<ref>{{cite book |last=Hobart |first=Malcolm C |date=2000 |title=Badges and Uniforms of the Royal Air Force |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ATMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT29 |publisher=Leo Cooper |page=26 |isbn=0-85052-739-2}}</ref> a rank which has been in continuous use ever since.

==Usage==
The rank title does not imply that an officer in the rank of flying officer flies. Some flying officers are aircrew, but many are ground branch officers. Amongst the ground branches some flying officers have command of [[Flight (military unit)|flights]].

In the RAF, aircrew and engineer officers are commissioned directly into the rank of flying officer, while ground branches are commissioned as [[pilot officer]]s for an initial period of six months. Time served in the rank of flying officer varies depending on branch before automatic promotion to [[flight lieutenant]]; aircrew and [[BEng]] qualified officers will serve for a period of 2½ years, [[MEng]] qualified engineers for 1½ years, and all other ground branches for 3½ years. A graduate entrant who has an MEng but is joining a ground branch other than engineer will serve 3½ years as a flying officer – the early promotion for MEng engineers is designed as a recruitment incentive. The starting salary for a flying officer is £30,616.80 per year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rates of Pay, 2015|url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/community/mura-raf-community/assets/file/regulars%20pay%202015.pdf|website=raf.mod.uk|access-date=1 April 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150921212831/http://www.raf.mod.uk/community/mura-raf-community/assets/File/Regulars%20Pay%202015.pdf|archive-date=21 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In many cases the rank of flying officer is the first rank an air force officer holds after successful completion of his professional training. A flying officer might serve as a pilot in training, an adjutant, a security officer or an administrative officer and is typically given charge of personnel and/or resources. By the time aviators have completed their training, they will have served their 2½ years and typically join their frontline squadrons as flight lieutenants.

==Insignia==
The rank insignia consists of one narrow blue band on slightly wider black band. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the [[flying suit]] or the casual uniform. The rank insignia on the mess uniform is similar to the naval pattern, being one band of gold running around each cuff but without the Royal Navy's loop.

<gallery>
File:UK-Air-OF1A.svg|An RAF flying officer's shoulder insignia
File:File-UK-Air-OF1A-mess-insignia.svg|An RAF flying officer's sleeve mess insignia
File:RAF-Fg Off-OF-1.png|An RAF flying officer's sleeve on No.1 best dress uniform
</gallery>

==Other air forces==
The rank of flying officer is also used in a number of the air forces in the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], including the [[Bangladesh Air Force]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://baf.mil.bd/website/rank.php |title=BAF RANKS |author= |date=2020 |website=Bangladesh Air Force Website |publisher=BAF Communication Unit |access-date=13 December 2020}}</ref> [[Indian Air Force]] (IAF),<ref>{{cite news |author= |title=Officer ranks in Indian Army, Air Force and Navy |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/officer-ranks-in-indian-army-air-force-and-navy-1464351-2019-02-25 |work=[[India Today]] |location=[[New Delhi]] |date=25 February 2019 |access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref> [[Namibian Air Force]], [[Pakistan Air Force]] (PAF), [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF), [[Nigerian Air Force|Nigeria Air Force]] (NAF) and [[Royal New Zealand Air Force]] (RNZAF).

The [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] (RCAF) used the rank until unification of the three armed services into the [[Canadian Forces]] in 1968 and army-type ranks were adopted. RCAF personnel holding this rank then switched to the rank of lieutenant. In official French Canadian usage, a flying officer's rank title was ''lieutenant d'aviation''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.castlearchdale.net/id37.html |title=The RCAF |website=www.castlearchdale.net |access-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603201652/http://www.castlearchdale.net/id37.html |archive-date=3 June 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Although the RCAF again became a named organization in the Canadian Forces in 2011, the RCAF retained army-type ranks.

The rank of "warrant flying officer" was also used by the air service of the [[Imperial Japan]]ese military.

This rank is the equivalent of a lieutenant in the [[Royal Malaysian Air Force]].

<gallery>
File:Australia RAAF OF-1b.svg|An [[RAAF]] flying officer's sleeve/shoulder insignia
File:Hellenic Air Force OF-1A.svg|A Hellenic Air Force ''yposminagos'' (flying officer's) rank insignia
File:Indian IAF OF-1b.svg|An Indian Air Force flying officer's rank insignia
File:RTAF OF-1b (Flying Officer).svg|A [[Royal Thai Air Force|RTAF]] flying officer's rank insignia
File:08-Namibia Air Force-FLGOFF.svg|A [[Namibian Air Force]] flying officer's rank insignia
File:Flag of Pakistan Air Force.png|A [[Pakistan Air Force|PAF]] flying-officer rank insignia
File:Nigeria-AirForce-OF-1b.svg|alt=Nigeria flying officer|[[Nigerian Air Force|NAF]] flying officer rank insignia
</gallery>

==See also==
{{stack|}}
* [[Air force officer rank insignia]]
* [[British and U.S. military ranks compared]]
* [[Comparative military ranks]]
* [[RAF officer ranks]]
* [[Ranks of the RAAF]]
* [[Flight officer]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{UK officer ranks}}


[[Category:Military ranks of the Commonwealth]]
[[Category:Military ranks of Australia]]
[[Category:Former military ranks of Canada]]
[[Category:Military ranks of the Royal Air Force]]
[[Category:Air force ranks]]
[[Category:Military ranks of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Military ranks of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Military ranks of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Military ranks of the Indian Air Force]]

Flying officer - Revision history

CleanupBot II at 22:45, 13 August 2023