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
Commandant (rank) (Comdt) () is a military rank in both the Irish Army and Irish Air Corps. It is equivalent to major and squadron leader. In the Irish Naval Service, the equivalent rank is lieutenant commander. Commandant (shortened from "capitaine-commandant", i.e. a "captain commanding" (a battalion)), is an officer-grade rank of the Military of France, specifically the French Army and the French Air Force, which is equivalent to major. The "commandant" is also styled "chef de bataillon" ("battalion head") in the infantry, "chef d'escadrons" ("squadrons head") in the armoured cavalry and "chef d'escadron" ("squadron head") in the artillery and the "Gendarmerie". "Commandant"