Wing Commander ( rank ) Wing Commander ( Wg Cdr in the RAF and the IAF , WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF , W / C in the former RCAF ) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries . It ranks above Squadron Leader and immediately below Group Captain . The name of the rank is the complete phrase ; it is never shortened to " Commander " . It has a NATO ranking code of OF - 4 , and is equivalent to a Commander in the Royal Navy or a Lieutenant - Colonel in the British Army or the Royal Marines . A Wing Commander is usually the rank of the Officer Commanding of an RAF Flying Squadron . 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 Wing Officer . The equivalent rank in the Royal Observer Corps ( until 1995 ) was Observer Commander which had a similar rank insignia . Origins . On 1 April 1918 , the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army , with Royal Naval Air Service Commanders ( titled as Wing Commanders ) and Royal Flying Corps Lieutenant - Colonels becoming Lieutenant - Colonels 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 Wing Commander would have been Air Commander . Although the Admiralty objected to this simple modification of their rank titles , it was agreed that the RAF might base many of its officer rank titles on Navy officer ranks with differing pre - modifying terms . It was also suggested that RAF Lieutenant Colonels might be titled as Reeves or Wing - Leaders . However , the rank title Wing Commander was chosen as Wings were typically commanded by RAF Lieutenant - Colonels and the term Wing Commander had been used in the Royal Naval Air Service . The rank of Wing Commander has been used continuously since 1 August 1919 . Usage . In the early years of the RAF , a Wing Commander commanded a flying wing , typically a group of three or four aircraft squadron s . Nowadays a Wing Commander is more likely to command a single flying squadron or a wing which is an administrative sub - division of a station . In the Air Training Corps , a Wing Commander is the Officer Commanding of a Wing . Insignia and command flag . The rank insignia is based on the three gold bands of Commanders in the Royal Navy and consists of three narrow light blue bands over slightly wider black bands . This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulder of the flying suit or the casual uniform . The command pennant used by a Wing Commander is one of two triangular command pennants used in the RAF . Two thin red lines differentiate this one from the other . During 1941 - 45 Fighter Command ' s Wing leaders ( of Wing Commander rank ) were also allowed to use their own initials as aircraft identification letters on their personal aircraft , e . g . , Wing Commander Roland Beamont ' s personal Hawker Tempest , " JN751 " , was coded " R - B " . Other air forces . The rank of Wing Commander is also used in a number of the air forces in the Commonwealth , including the Bangladesh Air Force , Ghana Air Force , Nigerian Air Force , Indian Air Force , Pakistan Air Force , Royal Australian Air Force , Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Sri Lankan Air Force . It is also used in the Egyptian Air Force , Hellenic Air Force , Royal Air Force of Oman and the Royal Thai Air Force . Canadian Air Force . The Royal Canadian Air Force ( RCAF ) used the rank until the unification of the Canadian Forces ( CF ) in 1968 , when Army - type rank titles were adopted . A Canadian Wing Commander then became a Lieutenant - Colonel . In official French Canadian usage , a wing commander ' s rank title was " lieutenant - colonel d ' aviation " . In the 1990s , the Canadian Forces Air Command ( the post - 1968 RCAF ) altered the structure of those bases under its control , redesignating them as wings . The commander of such an establishment was re - designated as the " Wing Commander " ( or " Wg Comd " ) . Like the United States Air Force usage , the term " wing commander " ( as used in the modern Canadian Forces ) is an appointment , not a rank . United States Air Force . In the United States Air Force ( USAF ) wing commander is a duty title , not a rank . The equivalent USAF rank is Lieutenant Colonel who typically has command of a squadron . Because USAF wings are larger formations than RAF wings , the commander of a wing must hold at least the rank of Colonel , and is typically a Colonel or a Brigadier General . The one exception to this is the commander of the 59th Medical Wing ( Wilford Hall Medical Center ) who is customarily a Major General .