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
Structure of the Royal Air Force in 1989 are listed under the airfields where they were based. The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) was commanded by an Air Vice-Marshal and provided reinforcements to the Royal Air Force, which were manned by civilians and called upon in times of need or war. Although all RAuxAF units had been disbanded in 1957 it lived on in three Maritime Headquarter Units, which provided ground and air crews for the Nimrod MR.2s of No. 18 (Maritime) Group. In 1979 the RAuxAF returned to life with the formation of three Field Squadrons to provide ground airfield defence at Royal Air Force airfields. During