group captain

A Group Captain's sleeve/shoulder insignia

Group Captain (Gp Capt in the RAF, GPCAPT in the RNZAF and RAAF, G/C in the former RCAF) is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above Wing Commander and immediately below Air Commodore. The name of the rank is the complete phrase, and is never shortened to "Captain".

It has a NATO ranking code of OF-5, and is equivalent to a Captain in the Royal Navy or a Colonel in the British Army or the Royal Marines.

The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) (until 1980) was Group Officer.

Origins

On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army, with Royal Naval Air Service Captains and Royal Flying Corps Colonels becoming Colonels in the RAF. In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own rank titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy's officer ranks, with the word "Air" inserted before the naval rank title. For example, the rank that later became Group Captain would have been Air Captain. Although the Admiralty objected to this simple modification of their rank titles, it was agreed that the RAF might base many of its officer rank titles on Navy officer ranks with differing pre-modifying terms. It was also suggested that RAF Colonels might be titled as Bannerets or Leaders. However, the rank title based on the Navy rank was preferred and as RAF Colonels typically commanded Groups the rank title Group Captain was chosen. The rank of Group Captain has been used continuously since 1 August 1919.

Usage

Although in the early years of the RAF groups were normally commanded by Group Captains, by the mid-1920s they were usually commanded by an Air Officer. The commander of an RAF flying station is typically a Group Captain. In the Air Training Corps, a Group Captain is the officer commanding of a region.

Insignia and command flag

A Group Captain's command flag

The rank insignia is based on the four gold bands of Captains in the Royal Navy, comprising four narrow light blue bands over slightly wider black bands. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform. Group Captains are the first rank in the RAF hierarchy to wear gold braid on the peak of their cap, commonly known in the RAF as 'scrambled egg'; however, they still wear the standard RAF officer's cap badge.

The command pennant for a Group Captain is similar to the one for a Wing Commander except that there is one broad red band in the centre. Only the Wing Commander and Group Captain command pennants are triangular in shape.

Other air forces

Rank insignia of a RTAF group captain

The rank of Group Captain is also used in a number of the air forces in the Commonwealth, including the Bangladesh Air Force, Ghana Air Force, Indian Air Force (IAF), Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and the Sri Lankan Air Force. It is also used in the Egyptian Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Royal Air Force of Oman and the Royal Thai Air Force. The Royal Canadian Air Force used the rank until the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, when Army-type rank titles were adopted. A Canadian Group Captain then became a Colonel.

Notable group captains

• Leonard Cheshire, World War II bomber pilot and charity worker.
• Douglas Bader, World War II fighter pilot and double amputee.
• Peter Townsend, World War II pilot and suitor of Princess Margaret.
• Hugh Dundas, World War II fighter pilot. Youngest person to hold this rank (age 24).

Use in fiction

• In the film Dr. Strangelove, Peter Sellers stars as Group Captain Lionel Mandrake.
• Jack Harkness in the fictional Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood, wears the rank slide of a Group Captain but is addressed, incorrectly as "Captain". However, in his initial appearance in Doctor Who he is incorrectly wearing the cap and insignia of Wing Commander.
• In the TV series Hogans Heroes, RAF Group Captain Rodney Crittendon (Bernard Fox) is transferred to Stalag 13 by Colonel Klink because he is senior to Colonel Hogan. The character has recurring appearances in the series. In most of the programs he was referred to as "Colonel" and not "Group Captain".
• The website Weebl's Stuff features a game called "Group Captain Suave vs a Large Monkey". In the game the Group Captain incorrectly addresses himself as "Captain".[1]

See also

• RAF officer ranks
• Comparative military ranks

	Officer ranks of the British Armed Forces
	Student Officer	OF(D)	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9	OF-10
Royal Navy:		Mid	SLt		Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm	VAdm	Adm	Adm of the Fleet
Royal Marines:			2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Army:	OCdt		2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	FM
Royal Air Force:	OC		APO / Plt Off	Fg Off	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	Air Cdre	AVM	Air Mshl	Air Chf Mshl	MRAF

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