Group captain (Gp Capt or Grp Cpt in the RAF and IAF, GPCAPT in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly G/C in the 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. Group captain is the rank usually held by the station commander of a large RAF station.
The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF), Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) (until 1980) was group officer. The equivalent rank in the Royal Observer Corps (until 1995) was observer captain which had a similar rank insignia.
Read more about Group Captain: Origins, Use, Insignia and Command Pennant, Other Air Forces, Notable Group Captains
Famous quotes containing the words group and/or captain:
“The conflict between the need to belong to a group and the need to be seen as unique and individual is the dominant struggle of adolescence.”
—Jeanne Elium (20th century)
“The sisters, cousins, aunts, and niece,
And widowed ma of Captain Reece,
Attended there as they were bid;
It was their duty, and they did.”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)