Wing commander ( rank ) Wing commander ( Wg Cdr in the RAF , the IAF , and the PAF , WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF , formerly sometimes W / C in all services ) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries . It ranks immediately above squadron leader and immediately below group captain . 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 . The equivalent rank in the Women ' s Auxiliary Air Force , Women ' s Royal Air Force ( until 1968 ) , and Princess Mary ' s Royal Air Force Nursing Service ( 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 naval officer ranks with differing pre - modifying terms . It was also suggested that RAF lieutenant colonels might be entitled 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 squadrons . In current usage a wing commander is more likely to command 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 is 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 " , Wing Commander John Robert Baldwin ' s personal Hawker Typhoon was coded " J - 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 . Royal 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 " . The rank of wing commander continues to be used as a cadet rank at the Royal Military College of Canada . 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 . A " wing commander " usually holds the rank of colonel . 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 . Civil Air Patrol ( United States Air Force Auxiliary ) . The Civil Air Patrol , the volunteer auxiliary of the USAF , follows the USAF rank structure . CAP divides the nation into 52 wings ( each corresponding to a state , territory , and District of Columbia ) . Each wing is headed by a CAP colonel , who holds the position of wing commander .