In May 1949, Lord Mountbatten, the inaugural Governor-General of India and himself a naval officer, dispatched a note to Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru, titled Names and Insignia of Indian Armed Forces, containing a list of suggestions regarding the nomenclature of the armed forces that were to be enforced upon the dominion's conversion to a republic.[2]
In the note, Mountbatten proposed that the future IAF should retain its predecessor's nomenclature as much as possible - advocating the retention of the RIAF's ranks, insignia and uniforms.[2] It was later decided that the rank braids of the officers cadre remained unchanged, whilst the three lions of Ashoka i.e., the State Emblem of India should replace the Tudor Crown on the insignia, flying badges and peak caps of airmen ranks.[3] Additionally, busts of the State Emblem and a semi-Chakra were incorporated as the main features on the badges corresponding to Master Warrant Officers (MWO) and Warrant Officers (WO); nonetheless, the MWO's badge was decided to be superimposed on the rank braids of the Pilot Officers.[3]
The highest operational rank in the IAF is the four-star rank of Air Chief Marshal, currently held exclusively by the CAS; coincidentally, the first time the rank was awarded was also to Singh in 1966, when he was then a Air Marshal.[6] Prior to him, CAS appointees belonged to the three-star rank of Air Marshal.[6]
Collar tabsedit
Sometime towards the end of Air Chief Marshal S. K. Sareen's tenure in 1998, the IAF introduced a new series gorget patches for its CO cadre - blue collar tabs embossed with white stars denoting the rank of the particular wearer; five for MIAF, four for Air Chief Marshal, three for Air Marshal, two for Air Vice Marshal and one for Air Commodore.[7] Initially, for the rank of Air Marshal, the collar tabs did not immediately distinguish between the positions of Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS), Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) and other three-star designated positions; however, later three-star collar tabs were embossed with a wreath design to solely indicate the positions of VCAS and AOC-in-C.[7]
Junior commissioned officer and non-commissioned ranksedit
The rank of Master Warrant Officer was introduced in February 1950.[8]
Effective from 16 May 1977, the rank of Flight Sergeant was abolished and replaced with the rank of Junior Warrant Officer; existing warrant officer rank insignia were modified accordingly.[10][11]
The rank of Pilot Officer is no longer in use; all new officers are commissioned as Flying Officers.
^"Military Digest: As Indian Navy looks to introduce new ranks, a look at foreign origins of Naval ranks". The Indian Express. 16 October 2023.
^ abcd"How India adopted its military flags and badges based on Lord Mountbatten's suggestions". optimizeias.com.
^ ab(PDF). 5 January 1950. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2017.
^. careerairforce.nic.in. Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
^ ab"Arjan Singh made IAF Marshal". The Tribune. 25 January 2002.
^ ab"India's First Marshal of the Air Force". archive.pib.gov.in. 25 January 2002.
^ ab"Uniforms, Badges and Other Regalia - Collar Tabs". www.bharat-rakshak.com. 30 November 1999.
^"First Batch of IAF Master Warrant Officers" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 14 February 1950. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
^. careerairforce.nic.in. Indian Air Force. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
^. 15 May 1977. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
^"Flight Sergeants Become Junior Warrant Officers" (PDF). Press Information Bureau of India - Archive. 15 May 1977. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
April 11, 2024
indian, force, ranks, insignia, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, js. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Indian Air Force ranks and insignia news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Indian Air Force IAF the aerial component of the Indian Armed Forces follows a certain hierarchy of rank designations and insignia derived from the erstwhile Royal Indian Air Force RIAF 1 Equivalent ranks of Indian militaryIndian Navy Indian Army Indian Air ForceCommissioned ranksAdmiral ofthe fleet Field marshal Marshal ofthe Indian Air ForceAdmiral General Air chief marshalVice admiral Lieutenant general Air marshalRear admiral Major general Air vice marshalCommodore Brigadier Air commodoreCaptain Colonel Group captainCommander Lieutenant colonel Wing commanderLieutenant commander Major Squadron leaderLieutenant Captain Flight lieutenantSub lieutenant Lieutenant Flying officerJunior commissioned ranksMaster chiefpetty officer1st class Subedar major Alt 1 Master warrant officerMaster chiefpetty officer2nd class Subedar Alt 2 Warrant officerChiefpetty officer Naib subedar Alt 3 Junior warrant officerNon commissioned ranksPetty officer Havildar SergeantLeading seaman Naik CorporalSeaman 1 Lance naik Leading aircraftsmanSeaman 2 Sepoy AircraftsmanFootnotes Risaldar major in cavalry and armoured regiments Risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments Naib risaldar in cavalry and armoured regiments Called jemadar until 1965 Contents 1 History 1 1 1947 1950 1 2 1950 present 1 3 Structure 2 Commissioned Officers 2 1 Command flags 2 2 Collar tabs 3 Junior commissioned officer and non commissioned ranks 4 Former ranks 5 See also 6 ReferencesHistory edit nbsp The Indian Air Force Ensign 1947 1950 edit Upon the establishment of establishment of India s independence in 1947 the country became a dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations nevertheless the armed forces namely the British Indian Army BIA the Royal Indian Navy RIN and the Royal Indian Air Force RIAF under the helm of King George VI as the Commander in Chief retained their respective pre independence ranks and corresponding insignia 2 1950 present edit In May 1949 Lord Mountbatten the inaugural Governor General of India and himself a naval officer dispatched a note to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru titled Names and Insignia of Indian Armed Forces containing a list of suggestions regarding the nomenclature of the armed forces that were to be enforced upon the dominion s conversion to a republic 2 In the note Mountbatten proposed that the future IAF should retain its predecessor s nomenclature as much as possible advocating the retention of the RIAF s ranks insignia and uniforms 2 It was later decided that the rank braids of the officers cadre remained unchanged whilst the three lions of Ashoka i e the State Emblem of India should replace the Tudor Crown on the insignia flying badges and peak caps of airmen ranks 3 Additionally busts of the State Emblem and a semi Chakra were incorporated as the main features on the badges corresponding to Master Warrant Officers MWO and Warrant Officers WO nonetheless the MWO s badge was decided to be superimposed on the rank braids of the Pilot Officers 3 In September 1949 Nehru forwarded the proposals to the country s minister of defence Baldev Singh recommending Mountbatten s suggestions which were consequently enforced upon India s emergence as a republic on 26 January 1950 2 Structure edit Presently the IAF s rank hierarchy is divided into three broad categories Commissioned Officers CO Junior Commissioned Officers JCO Non Commissioned Officers NCO Commissioned Officers editRank group General flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadetEpaulette Collar rank insignia nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Indian Air Force 4 vte nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Marshal of the Indian Air Forceम र शल ऑफ द इ ड यन एयरफ र स Air chief marshalएयर च फ म र शल Air marshalएयर म र शल Air vice marshalएयर व इस म र शल Air commodoreएयर कम ड र Group captainग र प क प टन Wing commanderव ग कम डर Squadron leaderस क व ड रन ल डर Flight lieutenantफ ल इट ल फ ट न ट Flying officerफ ल इ ग अफसर Flight cadetफ ल इट क ड टCommand flags edit nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp MIAF Air Chf Mshl Air Mshl AVM Air Cdre Gp Capt Wg CdrThe IAF has ten commissioned officer CO ranks of which the highest is that of Marshal of the Indian Air Force MIAF a ceremonial five star rank 5 The rank was awarded for the first yet only time in January 2002 to then retired Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh DFC who served as the IAF s third Chief of the Air Staff CAS between 1964 and 1969 for his exceptional leadership of the IAF during the 1965 Indo Pakistan War 5 The highest operational rank in the IAF is the four star rank of Air Chief Marshal currently held exclusively by the CAS coincidentally the first time the rank was awarded was also to Singh in 1966 when he was then a Air Marshal 6 Prior to him CAS appointees belonged to the three star rank of Air Marshal 6 Collar tabs edit Sometime towards the end of Air Chief Marshal S K Sareen s tenure in 1998 the IAF introduced a new series gorget patches for its CO cadre blue collar tabs embossed with white stars denoting the rank of the particular wearer five for MIAF four for Air Chief Marshal three for Air Marshal two for Air Vice Marshal and one for Air Commodore 7 Initially for the rank of Air Marshal the collar tabs did not immediately distinguish between the positions of Vice Chief of the Air Staff VCAS Air Officer Commanding in Chief AOC in C and other three star designated positions however later three star collar tabs were embossed with a wreath design to solely indicate the positions of VCAS and AOC in C 7 Junior commissioned officer and non commissioned ranks editThe rank of Master Warrant Officer was introduced in February 1950 8 Rank group Junior commissioned officers Non commissioned officer Enlisted nbsp Indian Air Force 9 vte nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp No insigniaMaster warrant officerम स टर व र ट अफसर Warrant officerव र ट अफसर Junior warrant officerज न यर व र ट अफसर Sergeantस र ज ट Corporalक रप रल Leading aircraftsmanल ड ग एयरक र फ ट सम न Aircraftsmanएयरक र फ ट सम नFormer ranks editEffective from 16 May 1977 the rank of Flight Sergeant was abolished and replaced with the rank of Junior Warrant Officer existing warrant officer rank insignia were modified accordingly 10 11 The rank of Pilot Officer is no longer in use all new officers are commissioned as Flying Officers Former Discontinued Ranks Officers Non commissioned officersShoulderInsignia nbsp Arm nbsp nbsp nbsp Rank Pilotofficerप यलट अफसर Warrant officerव र ट अफसर Juniorwarrant officerज न यर व र ट अफसर Flightsergeantफ ल इट स र ज टSee also editComparative military ranks Indian Army ranks and insignia Indian Navy ranks and insignia Coast Guard ranks and insignia of India Border Roads Organisation ranks and insignia of India Paramilitary forces ranks and insignia of India Police ranks and insignia of IndiaReferences edit Military Digest As Indian Navy looks to introduce new ranks a look at foreign origins of Naval ranks The Indian Express 16 October 2023 a b c d How India adopted its military flags and badges based on Lord Mountbatten s suggestions optimizeias com a b New Designs of Crests and Badges in the Service PDF 5 January 1950 Archived from the original PDF on 8 August 2017 For Officers careerairforce nic in Indian Air Force Archived from the original on 25 February 2012 Retrieved 23 September 2021 a b Arjan Singh made IAF Marshal The Tribune 25 January 2002 a b India s First Marshal of the Air Force archive pib gov in 25 January 2002 a b Uniforms Badges and Other Regalia Collar Tabs www bharat rakshak com 30 November 1999 First Batch of IAF Master Warrant Officers PDF Press Information Bureau of India Archive 14 February 1950 Retrieved 21 January 2024 For Airmen careerairforce nic in Indian Air Force Archived from the original on 25 February 2012 Retrieved 23 September 2021 IAF officers badges 15 May 1977 Archived from the original on 22 May 2022 Retrieved 23 September 2021 Flight Sergeants Become Junior Warrant Officers PDF Press Information Bureau of India Archive 15 May 1977 Retrieved 21 January 2024 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Indian Air Force ranks and insignia amp oldid 1212839125, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
