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
Royal Air Force Antarctic Flight from Mawson station. One was lost on the return voyage, but the other served in Antarctica over a number of years until it was sold after the end of the 1958/59 season. Another two Austers were operated by the RAF and RNZAF (as "Auster Antarcticas") as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1955-58. Royal Air Force Antarctic Flight The Royal Air Force Antarctic Flight was an independent flight of the Royal Air Force organised to support the Norwegian–British–Swedish Antarctic Expedition in 1949-50. It was the first RAF unit to operate in Antarctica. The Flight was led by Squadron-Leader George