Commander Air Force's mid-rank officers' ranks are modelled on those of the Royal Navy, the term wing commander is used as a rank, and this is the equivalent of a lieutenant colonel in the army or a commander in the navy. The rank of wing commander is above that of squadron leader and below that of group captain. In the former Royal Naval Air Service, which was merged with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force in 1918, the pilots held appointments as well as their normal ranks in the Royal Navy, and they wore insignia appropriate to
120 Squadron Royal Netherlands Air Force November 1961 the unit was re-formed as 120 Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The squadron was equipped with Nike-Hercules surface to air missiles and formed part of 1 Guided Missile Wing ("Groep Geleide Wapens"; GGW) along with 118, 119 and 121 Squadrons. The Nike-Hercules missiles were armed with nuclear warheads and were provided to the Netherlands and other NATO countries by the United States. From August 1964, 120 Squadron was stationed at Borgholzhausen in West Germany. It was transferred to 12 GGW in May 1975 but remained at Borgholzhausen. 12 GGW also included 118, 220 and 223 Squadrons.