Aircraftman

Comparative military ranks
Armies,
air forces
(non-Commonwealth)		 Navies,
coast guards		 Air forces
(Commonwealth system)
Flag commissioned officers
Field marshal or Marshal or Captain general Admiral of the fleet Marshal of the air force
General or
colonel general or
army general		 Admiral Air chief marshal
Lieutenant general or
army corps general		 Vice admiral Air marshal
Major general or
divisional general		 Rear admiral or
Counter admiral		 Air vice-marshal
Brigadier or
brigadier general		 Commodore or
flotilla admiral		 Air commodore
Senior commissioned officers
Colonel (Ship-of-the-line)
Captain		 Group captain
Lieutenant colonel Frigate captain or
Commander		 Wing commander
Major or
commandant		 Corvette captain or Lieutenant
commander		 Squadron leader
Junior commissioned officers
Captain Lieutenant Flight lieutenant
First lieutenant or
lieutenant		 Lieutenant
junior grade or
sub-lieutenant		 Flying officer
Second lieutenant or
junior lieutenant		 Ensign or
midshipman		 Pilot officer
Officer cadet Officer cadet Flight cadet
Non-commissioned officers
Warrant officer or
sergeant major		 Warrant officer or
chief petty officer		 Warrant officer
Sergeant Petty officer Sergeant
Enlisted ranks
Corporal or
bombardier		 Leading seaman Corporal
Lance corporal or
Lance bombardier or
Specialist		 Able seaman Leading aircraftman or
Air specialist
Private or
gunner or
trooper or
sapper		 Seaman Aircraftman or
airman or
aviator

Aircraftman (AC) or aircraftwoman (ACW)[1][2] was formerly the lowest rank in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and is still in use by the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries. In RAF slang, aircraftmen were sometimes called "erks".[3]

Aircraftman ranked below leading aircraftman and has a NATO rank code of OR-1. For some time in the RAF it had been a training rank only and no airmen in productive service held the rank. Aircraftmen do not wear any rank insignia. The rank was renamed air recruit (AR) in the Royal Air Force in July 2022.[4]

  1. ^ "RAF Distinguishing Insignia" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. ^ The spellings "aircraftsman" and "aircraftswoman", despite being occasionally seen even in official documents, are incorrect in any air force.
  3. ^ "erk". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. ^ "Junior Ranks Revolution". RAF News. No. 1540. 15 July 2022.