Aircraftman

Aircraftman

Aircraftman (AC), or Aircraftwoman (ACW), is the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries.

Aircraftman ranks below Leading Aircraftman and has a NATO rank code of OR-1. It is presently a training rank only and no airmen in productive service hold this rank. Aircraftman do not wear any rank insignia.

The rank was introduced on the formation of the RAF in 1918, replacing the Royal Flying Corps rank of Air Mechanic 2nd Class. There used to be two grades: Aircraftman 1st Class (AC1) and Aircraftman 2nd Class (AC2; also colloquially known as an "AC plonk").

In the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the rank is known as "Aircraftsman", regardless of the person's sex, in line with Seaman in the Royal New Zealand Navy. The spelling "Aircraftsman", despite being seen even in official documents, is incorrect in the RAF.

In RAF slang, Aircraftmen are sometimes called "erks". The word "erk" is likely a phonetic spelling of an east-Londoner's pronunciation of the abbreviation, "airc". Fact|date=May 2007

ee also

*RAF enlisted ranks


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • aircraftman — aircraftman, aircraftsman aircraftsman . 1. 1 a noncommissioned officer in the British Royal Air Force. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • aircraftman — UK [ˈeə(r)ˌkrɑːftmən] / US [ˈerˌkræftmən] noun [countable] Word forms aircraftman : singular aircraftman plural aircraftmen UK [ˈeə(r)ˌkrɑːftmən] / US [ˈerˌkræftmən] a man of low rank in the British air force …   English dictionary

  • aircraftman — (or aircraftwoman) noun (plural aircraftmen or aircraftwomen) the lowest RAF rank, below leading aircraftman (or leading aircraftwoman) …   English new terms dictionary

  • aircraftman — noun A member of the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force or the air forces of various other Commonwealth countries …   Wiktionary

  • aircraftman — air|craft|man [ˈeəkra:ftmən US ˈerkræft ] n plural aircraftmen [ mən] a low rank in the British air force, or someone who has this rank …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • aircraftman — air·craft·man || eÉ™krɑːftmÉ™n n. (British) noncommissioned officer in the Royal Air Force …   English contemporary dictionary

  • aircraftman — noun (C) a low rank in the British air force, or someone who has this rank …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • aircraftman — air·craft·man …   English syllables

  • aircraftman — /ˈɛəkraftmən/ (say airkrahftmuhn) noun (plural aircraftmen) a man of the lowest rank in the Royal Australian Air Force. Also, aircraftsman. –aircraftwoman, aircraftswoman, noun …  

  • aircraftman — n. (pl. men) the lowest rank in the RAF …   Useful english dictionary

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