Second lieutenant (1918– ) (called "assistant field cornet" 1960–68)
Warrant officers
In June 2008[8] a new series of warrant officer ranks were introduced.
Warrant officer 1st class (1921– )
Warrant officer 2nd class (1921– )
Warrant officer (1912–21)
Non-commissioned officers
Staff sergeant (1912– ) (Air Force equivalent "flight sergeant")
Sergeant (1912– ) (Air Force equivalent called "air sergeant" until 1970)
Corporal (1912– ) (Air Force equivalent called "air corporal" until 1970)
Lance-corporal (1912– ) (Air Force equivalent called "leading air mechanic" until 1970)
Rank and file
Private (1912– ) (Air Force equivalent called "air mechanic" 1920–70, "private" 1970–82 and "airman" 1982–)
Naval ranks
Flag officers
Admiral (1972– )
Vice-admiral (1965– )
Rear-admiral (1940– )
Rear-admiral junior grade (1998– )
Senior officers
Commodore (1946–98)
Captain (1941– )
Commander (1913– )
Lieutenant-commander (1913– )
Junior officers
Lieutenant (1913– )
Sub-lieutenant (1913– )
Ensign (1913– ) (called "acting sub-lieutenant" until 1965)
Warrant officer 1st class (1955– )
Warrant officer 2nd class (1955– )
Warrant officer (1913–55)
Petty officers
Chief petty officer (1913– )
Petty officer (1913– )
Leading seaman (1913– )
Able seaman (1913– )
Ratings
Seaman (1913– )
Army
The SA Army was formed in 1912 as the Union Defence Force. It was given its present name in 1951. The rank system is derived from that of the British Army.
The ranks of General Officers changed in September 2003 when the rank previously called Brigadier became known as Brigadier General.[9][10]
Note: in the artillery and anti-aircraft corps, the corporal and lance-corporal are called "bombardier" (bombardeer) and "lance-bombardier" (onderbombardeer). The private is called a "gunner" in the artillery and anti-aircraft, a "rifleman" in the infantry, a "trooper" in the armoured corps, a "sapper" in the engineers, a "signalman" in the signals corps, and a "scout" in the intelligence corps.
Substantive warrant officer posts
Any warrant officer class 1 could be posted to substantive posts, including
However they would retain the rank of WO1, while wearing unique rank insignia. To distinguish the posting different colour backgrounds were used; for example, red for regimental sergeant major and black for command sergeant major. The sergeant major of each arm of service wore insignia topped by the arms of their respective arm of service.
In 2008 the warrant officer ranks were expanded to make each substantive rank a formal rank.
Air Force
The SA Air Force was formed in 1920. Unlike many other Commonwealth air forces, it had an army style rank system. In 2002 the Air Force officer rank insignia structure was changed from one which was shared with the Army to a new pattern based on stripes. The Air Force stated that this was "in order to bring it more in line with international forms of rank".[13] The army-style rank titles were retained. Note: The rank of General is only used when the Chief of the Air Force is also the Chief of the Defence Force which has occurred on occasion in the past. In 2005 the South African Air Force redesigned its insignia completely, while keeping the Army titles.
The SA Navy was originally two separate organisations, namely the South African Division of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (formed in 1913) and the South African Naval Service (formed in 1922 and renamed the "Seaward Defence Force" in 1939). They amalgamated in 1942 to form the SA Naval Forces, which were renamed "SA Navy" in 1951. The rank system is based on that of the (British) Royal Navy.[14]
The ranks of flag officers changed in 1997 when the rank previously called Commodore became known as Rear Admiral (Junior Grade).[15]
^ abc"Rank Insignia". navy.mil.za. Department of Defence (South Africa). Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
^ abc"Rank Insignia". af.mil.za. Department of Defence (South Africa). Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
^ ab"Rank insignia". South Africa Military Health Service. Department of Defence. 26 January 2007. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
^ abRadburn, A. (22 February 2012). "SOUTH AFRICAN ARMY RANKS AND INSIGNIA". Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies. 20 (2): 1–4. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
^ abcdefSmaldone, Joseph P. (1997). "National Security". In Byrnes, Rita M. (ed.). South Africa: a country study. Area Handbook (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. pp. 378–379. LCCN96048983. Retrieved 20 October 2021.