US WWII Officer Ranks

[Dereck]

I have WAY too much time on my hands today ... [8|]

*Added Warrant and Enlisted Ranks* Any Marines please help if you know the WWII Marine Ranks

[mucky]

What rank is this? FO

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: mucky

What rank is this? FO

Flight Officer. That is a British/Australian/new Zealand rank. It is NOT an American rank at all. The list I gave you was the list of official US military ranks. Generally, usually without exception, pilots in the US military are either commissioned officers (the list I gave your) or Warrent Officers (WO or CWO).

FO (Flight Officer), FLT (Flight Lieutenant), WCDR (Wing Commander), SLDR (Squadron Leader) are British/Commonwealth ranks.

[mucky]

ah i see, thanks!

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: mucky

ah i see, thanks!

The US Navy DOES have what they call Navy Aviators and Navy Flight Officers but the distinction is that Navy Aviators are PILOTS wheras Flight Officers are just officers who fly IN a plane and are not pilots. Regardless of that distinction they still have the Naval ranks listed above.

[TheElf]

Flight officer

[V2]

In WWII there were US pilots (USMC and USN for sure...don't know about USAAF) who were NCO's. They were a minority of course. Also, WO's were pilots until recently (the last USMC WO pilot retired a coupla years ago.)

[RevRick]

had to memorize that thing in boot camp. Luckily, I had a head start in my reading before in school, so it wasn't that bad. Some of the guys never got it. Of course, they also called the deck a floor, and the bulkheads walls, etc., etc., etc.

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: V2

In WWII there were US pilots (USMC and USN for sure...don't know about USAAF) who were NCO's. They were a minority of course. Also, WO's were pilots until recently (the last USMC WO pilot retired a coupla years ago.)

I'm not sure about that. Can you name a pilot of a navy plane that wasn't a commissioned officer? The military back then was pretty rank conscious and if you were going to be a pilot of a plane they'd send you to a 30-day Officer Candidate School to get a commission before you'd get a plane.

I know the Japanese DID use NCOs as pilots but I don't think the US did.

[Don Bowen]

Enlisted Pilots in the U.S.N. were known as Naval Aviation Pilots (NAP) and there were a lot of them. VF-2 was originally known as the "Flying Chiefs" due to the high number of NAP.

When Lexington was damaged in January, 1942, many Fighting Two Pilots were transferred to other squadrons. Fighting Six received 10 NAP:
Howard M. Sumrall, AMM1c
Doyle C. Barnes, AMM1c
Julius A. Achten, AMM1c
Clayton Allard, AMM1c
Tom F. Cheek, AMM1c
Beverly W. Reid, AMM1c
Thomas W. Rhodes, ARM1c
William H. Warden, AMM1c
Howard S. Packard, AMM1c
Homer W. Carter, AMM1c

By Coral Sea, VF-2 had been rebuilt and apparently had only a single NAP: Robert F. Kanze, AP2c.

As the war progressed, the level of training and responsibility for a pilot was considered appropriate for an officer and pilots were commissioned or warranted (including many ex-NAP).

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: Don Bowen

Enlisted Pilots in the U.S.N. were known as Naval Aviation Pilots (NAP) and there were a lot of them. VF-2 was originally known as the "Flying Chiefs" due to the high number of NAP.

When Lexington was damaged in January, 1942, many Fighting Two Pilots were transferred to other squadrons. Fighting Six received 10 NAP:
Howard M. Sumrall, AMM1c
Doyle C. Barnes, AMM1c
Julius A. Achten, AMM1c
Clayton Allard, AMM1c
Tom F. Cheek, AMM1c
Beverly W. Reid, AMM1c
Thomas W. Rhodes, ARM1c
William H. Warden, AMM1c
Howard S. Packard, AMM1c
Homer W. Carter, AMM1c

By Coral Sea, VF-2 had been rebuilt and apparently had only a single NAP: Robert F. Kanze, AP2c.

As the war progressed, the level of training and responsibility for a pilot was considered appropriate for an officer and pilots were commissioned or warranted (including many ex-NAP).

I never knew this. Thank you very much for this information.

[Feinder]

Yeah, there was a brief time, pre and early WW2 where NCOs (with flying experience) were made pilots. Ended up that it didn't take long to have enough pilot candiates, that were officers, to restrict it entirely to officers.

Also interesting factoid is that, in 1942 all US air-crew (sans pilot, copilot, bombadier, nav, which were alway officers) were the enlisted rank that they had "rightfully attained" (thru time in service etc). So you could (and frequently) ended up with with PFCs and Cpls as aircrew. However, as aircraft were lost over Europe, they found that that the Germans were very rank conscious in the PoW camps. So by 1943, it became to standard practice to promote anyone serving on an aircrew to the rank of Sgt, so as to improve their potential treatment as PoWs, if their aircraft were to be shot down.

-F-

[rogueusmc]

ORIGINAL: dereck

I have WAY too much time on my hands today ... [8|]

*Added Warrant and Enlisted Ranks* Any Marines please help if you know the WWII Marine Ranks

as of now, the Marine ranks are:

Non-rate ranks:
e-1 Private (no insignia)
e-2 Private First Class (one chevron)
e-3 Lance Corporal (one chevron w/ crossed rifles)

Non-commissioned Officers:
e-4 Corporal (two chevrons w/ crossed rifles)
e-5 Sargeant (three chevrons w/ crossed rifles)

Staff Non-commissioned Officers:
e-6 Staff Sargeant (three chevrons, one rocker w/ crossed rifles)
e-7 Gunnery Sargeant (three chevrons, two rockers w/ crossed rifles)
e-8 there are two
Master Sargeant (three chevrons, three rockers w/ crossed rifles)
This is a working rank so-to-speak...in charge of a motor pool or something like
that
First Sargeant (three chevrons, three rockers w/ a diamond)
This is more of an administrative rank...senior enlisted Marine at company level...
he's in charge of personel.
e-9 there are two of these also
Master Gunnery Sargeant (three chevrons, four rockers w/ crossed rifles)
This rank is like, but senior to, the Master Sargeant.
Sargeant Major (three chevrons, four rockers w/ star)
This rank is like a First Sargeant but at Battalion and above.
e-10 Sargeant Major of the Marine Corps (three chevrons, five rockers and ega)
There is only one in the Corps...senior enlisted Marine.

I do know that the Lance Corporal didn't exist then...the rest should be the same though I think. This is all from memory. Nor were there crossed rifles then.

[madmickey]

Jack Pershing was also General of The Armies

John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948) was a soldier in the United States Army. Pershing eventually rose to the highest possible rank only held once before by George Washington: General of the Armies. He was born near Laclede, Missouri and graduated from United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1886.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_J._Pershing

[Dereck]

All information I can find on Marine enlisted ranks are after 1959. I have the Marine Corps ranks (Officer and Enlisted) in my old Blue Jackets Manual I was issued in Navy Boot Camp in 1980 but that doesn't do me much good if the ranks I want are from World War II [:(]

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: madmickey

Jack Pershing was also General of The Armies

John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948) was a soldier in the United States Army. Pershing eventually rose to the highest possible rank only held once before by George Washington: General of the Armies. He was born near Laclede, Missouri and graduated from United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1886.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_J._Pershing

Thank you. I wondered if he had been but wasn't sure so I went with the one I knew was promoted to General of the Armies.

[Twotribes]

There was no LCpl in WW2. Cant remember if they had MSgt either. Otherwise same rank as now, with no crossed rifles under chevrons

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: Twotribes

There was no LCpl in WW2. Cant remember if they had MSgt either. Otherwise same rank as now, with no crossed rifles under chevrons

If the Marines follow the same standard as the other services during WWII there won't be any of the E-8 and E-9 paygrades. I know the Navy was easy ... the Senior Chief and Master Chief ranks were just added.

So "tentatively" the WWII Marine Ranks would be?:

E7 - Sergeant Major or Master Gunnery Sergeant
E6 - Gunnery Sergeant
E5 - Staff Sergeant
E4 - Sergeant
E3 - Corporal
E2 - Private 1st Class
E1 - Private

[PJJ]

Didn't they also promote U. S. Grant to the rank of 'General of the Armies', or something like that? [&:]

[Dereck]

ORIGINAL: PJJ

Didn't they also promote U. S. Grant to the rank of 'General of the Armies', or something like that? [&:]

He was promoted to Lieutenant General during the Civil War ... a rank that up to then had only been held by George Washington. Not sure if he was posthumously promoted though.