This article is about the air force rank. For the francophone army rank sometimes translated as squadron leader, see chef d'escadron.

A squadron leader's sleeve/shoulder insignia

Squadron leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force^[1] and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these cases a squadron leader ranks above flight lieutenant and immediately below wing commander.

Several abbreviations are used, including Sqn Ldr, Sqn. Ldr., SQNLDR and S/L in the various air forces of the world.

It has a NATO ranking code of OF-3, equivalent to a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy or a major in the British Army or the Royal Marines.

The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) (until 1980) was squadron officer.

Origins[link]

The rank originated in the British Royal Air Force and was adopted by several other air forces which use, or used, the RAF rank system.

On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army, with Royal Naval Air Service lieutenant commanders and Royal Flying Corps majors becoming majors in the RAF. In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own rank titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy's officer ranks, with the word "air" inserted before the naval rank title. For example, the rank that later became squadron leader would have been air lieutenant commander. However, the Admiralty objected to this modification of their rank titles. The rank title squadron leader was chosen as squadrons were typically led by RAF majors and the term squadron commander had been used in the Royal Naval Air Service. The rank of squadron leader has been used continuously since 1 August 1919.

RAF usage[link]

From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the RAF used the equivalent rank major, which was superseded by squadron leader.

Before the Second World War, a squadron leader commanded a squadron of aircraft. Today, however, a flying squadron is usually commanded by a wing commander, with each of the two flights under a squadron leader. However, ground-operating squadrons which are sub-divisions of a wing are ordinarily commanded by a squadron leader. This includes squadrons of the RAF Regiment and University Air Squadrons.^{[citation needed]}

The rank squadron leader is the first senior officer rank within the RAF.

Insignia and command flag[link]

The rank insignia consists of a thin blue band on a slightly wider black band between 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.

Squadron leaders are the lowest ranking officers that may fly a command flag. The flag may be depicted on the officer's aircraft or, should the squadron leader be in command, the flag may be flown from a flagpole or displayed on an official car as a car flag. If the squadron leader is in command of a numbered squadron, then the number of the squadron is also shown on the flag.

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  An RAF squadron leader's sleeve/shoulder insignia

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  An RAF squadron leader's sleeve mess insignia

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  An RAF squadron leader's command flag

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  An RAF squadron leader's sleeve on No.1 best dress uniform

Other air forces[link]

The rank of squadron leader is also used in a number of the air forces in the Commonwealth, including the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF), Ghana Air Force, Indian Air Force (IAF), Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It is also used in the Egyptian Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Royal Air Force of Oman and the Royal Thai Air Force.

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) used the rank until the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, when army-type rank titles were adopted. Canadian squadron leaders were retitled as majors. In official French Canadian usage, a squadron leader's rank title was commandant d'aviation. The Chilean Air Force equivalent rank, in Chilean Spanish, is comandante de escuadrilla or squadron commander.

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  An RAAF squadron leader's sleeve/shoulder insignia

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  A Hellenic Air Force Episminagos (squadron leader's) rank insignia

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  An Indian Air Force squadron leader's rank insignia

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  A RTAF squadron leader's rank insignia

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  A PAF squadron-leader's shoulder rank insignia.

Notable squadron leaders[link]

• Squadron Leader Nikki Thomas, Tornado GR4 navigator of 31 Squadron.^[2]

Land forces[link]

In the British Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps, "squadron leader" is the title (but not the rank) often given to the commander of a squadron (company) of armoured fighting vehicles. The squadron leader is usually a major, although in the Second World War the post was often held by a captain.

Fiction[link]

The rank has been borrowed in science fiction including the Star Wars films and its extended universe of literature and comics, though (at least in the Star Wars franchise) more often as the title and\or callsign of the leader of a starfighter squadron, irrespective of rank (similar to the aforementioned RAC usage; see flight leader), and usually with the word "squadron" replaced by the name of the squadron, e.g. red leader for the commander of Red Squadron, and infrequently as an actual rank. For the most part, this is just another example of common depiction of starfighter forces in most works featuring such craft as closely paralleling contemporary (at the time the work in question was produced) real-world air forces in almost all aspects.

See also[link]

• RAF officer ranks
• Comparative military ranks

External links[link]

• RAF Command Flags

References[link]

John Leslie (Les) Munro
Flight Lieutenant Les Munro (left foreground) speaking to King George VI (centre) and Wing Commander Guy Gibson (right)
Born	(1919-04-05) 5 April 1919 (age 93) Gisborne, NZ
Allegiance	New Zealand
Service/branch	Royal New Zealand Air Force
Rank	Squadron Leader
Battles/wars	World War II Operation Chastise
Awards	Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit Distinguished Service Order Companion of The Queen’s Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross

Squadron Leader John Leslie (Les) Munro CNZM, DSO, QSO, DFC, JP (born 5 April 1919)^[1] is the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters Raid of May 1943.^[2]

Born at Gisborne on New Zealand's East Coast, Munro lived there on the family farm until he enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force on 5 July 1941.^[3] He was originally turned down because of unsatisfactory scholastic ability, but studied by correspondence and was finally accepted.

Munro learned to fly in Tiger Moths at the RNZAF's Flying Training School at Bell Block near New Plymouth, and on graduation chose to fly bombers so was posted to Canada for initial bomber training. He moved to England in October 1941 for further training, and joined 97 Squadron at Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire. There, he flew Avro Manchesters and then Avro Lancasters in 1942/43 and while there his DFC was gazetted, on 11 June 1943.

The Dambusters[link]

He was one of hundreds of aircrew volunteering to be part of the secretive 617 Dambusters Squadron being formed at RAF Scampton, and joined it four days after it was formed, on 25 Mar 1943.

The squadron was created to attack the dams of the Ruhr in an effort to wreck the industrial capacity of Germany. Of the 19 Lancasters that flew on that full-moon night, only 11 returned. Munro, as pilot of AW-Willie, was scheduled to bomb the Sorpe dam. His aircraft was damaged by flak over Holland,^[4] which knocked out all communications, and after a vote among the crew it turned back to land in Lincolnshire, still carrying its mine. His DSO was awarded while he was with 617, on 28 March 1943.

Munro was promoted to Squadron Leader^[5] on 14 February 1944 and was posted to command 1690 BDTF Squadron (Bomber Defence Training Flight) on 13 Jul 1944. He was released from the air force on 5 Feb 1946, a veteran of 58 missions, and he retired from flying.

Wartime incidents[link]

In an 2006 interview Munro said "I would be the first to admit that I was pretty lucky. Most blokes who survived even a couple of operational tours would say that luck was on their side."^[6]

He experienced numerous wartime incidents, and his logbook shows that when departing Scampton to bomb Bremen with four 500 lb general purpose bombs, his aircraft crashed and burned shortly after takeoff, but the crew escaped.^[7]

Munro took part in Operation Taxable in conjunction with the D Day landings in Normandy in which the Lancasters flew precise, elongated circuits dropping Window (aluminium strips),^[8] to convince German radar installations that a huge flotilla of ships was approaching Cap d'Antifer. The ruse was successful and the last of the 617 squadron Window droppers witnessed German shore batteries firing on the "Ghost" convoy

Munro described the operation in his logbook as:

"The creation of a tactical surprise to support the landing of troops on the opening of the second front. The most hazardous, difficult and most dangerous operation ever undertaken in the history of air warfare. Involved flying within at least nine miles of the enemy coast without fighter cover, and in conditions of bright moonlight and at a height of not more than 3000 ft (three thousand) at which the aircraft was open to attack by the deadliest of all weapons - light flak."

^[9]

Munro's co-pilot on this operation was Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, the squadron's commanding officer who later won the Victoria Cross.

Post military[link]

Following his career in the military, Munro returned to New Zealand where he worked as a property valuer for a time and then on farms in the King Country before establishing his own farm near Te Kuiti. For some time he was involved in local politics as a councillor, and served as Mayor of Waitomo District Council from 1978 to 1995. On retirement he moved to live in Tauranga.

Munro attended the 60th Anniversary commemoration of the Dambusters raid, along with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in May 2003 at RAF Lossiemouth.^[10] He was also present, along with Richard Todd, the actor who played Wing Commander Guy Gibson in the 1955 The Dam Busters film, for the 65th anniversary commemoration held at Derwent Reservoir (Derbyshire) on 16 May 2008. As the last living pilot of the strike team, Munro, joined the production crew in Masterton as technical adviser on a remake of the film.

Munro’s signature was appended to two sets of souvenir first day covers issued in Britain to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Operation Chastise. One, postmarked “Scampton, 17th May 2008”, was signed by the six surviving crew members who flew on the raid,^[11] and the other, postmarked ‘’617 squadron, Scampton’’ was signed by Munro alone.^[12]

In 2009 Munro took part in filming for the documentary Into the Wind, directed by Steven Hatton. The film, a feature length documentary about the veterans of Bomber Command was released on 30 November 2011.

He has a street named in Te Kuiti, Les Munro Place.^[13]

References[link]