Flight Lieutenant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Flight Lieutenant (pronounced as flight lef-tenant, see Lieutenant) is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above Flying Officer and immediately below Squadron Leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase, and is never shortened to "Lieutenant." It is abbreviated as Flt Lt.

It has a NATO ranking code of OF-2, and is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy or a Captain in the British Army or the Royal Marines.

From the formation of the RAF in 1918 until just after WWII, a flight lieutenant would command a flight of aircraft, three or four of which form a squadron. In the modern air force, it is rare that a Flt Lt is in command of a flying unit, but most ground units have Flt Lts commanding flights of personnel.

The rank insignia consists of two narrow blue bands on 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.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) also uses this rank. The only difference is that it is abbreviated in capitals. FLTLT with no space.

See also

• Comparative military ranks

British officer ranks
	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:	OCdt	Mid	SLt	Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm	VAdm	Adm	Admiral of the Fleet
Royal Marines:	OCdt		2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen
Army:	OCdt	OD	2Lt - Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj Gen	Lt Gen	Gen	Field Marshal
Royal Air Force:	OCdt	OD	PO - FO	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	ACdre	AVM	AM	ACM	MRAF

Other Air Forces

The rank of Flight Lieutenant holds the same position in a number of the Air Forces in the Commonwealth of Nations, including the Indian Air Force (IAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

Air Forces with British heritage, such as the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), also use a similar rank structure to these Air Forces.