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Inmilitary aviation, awing is a unit of command. In most military aviation services, a wing is a relatively large formation of planes. InCommonwealth countries a wing usually comprises threesquadrons, with several wings forming agroup (around 10 squadrons). Each squadron will contain around 20 planes.
| Size group[1] | British and USN | USAF and USMC | USSF | Canadian[2] | French AAE | German Air Force | Italian Air Force | NATO rank level[1] ofgeneral or commanding officer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air division (no longer used) | Air division Division aérienne | Luftwaffendivision (no longer used) | Divisione aerea | OF-7 | |||||||
| Group | Wing | Delta (OF-5) | Group[3] Groupe aérien (no longer used) | Brigade Aérienne | Brigata aerea | OF-5, orOF-6 | |||||
| Wing | Group | Wing Escadre | Escadre | Geschwader[4] (OF-5) | Stormo | OF-4,OF-5, orOF-6 | |||||
| Squadron | Squadron | Squadron (OF-4) | Squadron Escadron | Escadron | Gruppe (OF-4) | Gruppo | OF-3 orOF-4 | ||||
| Flight | Flight | Flight Escadrille | Escadrille | Staffel[4] (OF-3) | Squadriglia | OF-2 orOF-3 | |||||
| Flight | Element/Section | Section | Section | Schwarm[4] /Kette | sezione | OF-1 orOF-2 |
On its establishment in 1912, theBritishRoyal Flying Corps (RFC) was intended to be an inter-service, combined force of theBritish Army andRoyal Navy. Given therivalry that existed between the army and navy, new terminology was used, in order to avoid marking the corps out as having an army or navy ethos. Whilethe term "wing" had been used in the cavalry, its more general use predominated. Accordingly, the word "wing", with its allusion of flight, was chosen as the term of subdivision and the corps was split into a "Military Wing" (i.e. an army wing) and a "Naval Wing". Each wing consisted of a number of squadrons (the term "squadron" already being used by both the Army and the Navy).
By 1914, the naval wing had become theRoyal Naval Air Service, and gained its independence from the Royal Flying Corps. In 1915, the Royal Flying Corps had significantly expanded and it was felt necessary to create organizational units which would control two or more squadrons; the term "wing" was re-used for these new organizational units.
The Royal Flying Corps was amalgamated with the Royal Naval Air Service in 1918, creating theRoyal Air Force. The RFC usage of wing was maintained in the new service.[5]
| Unit type | Commanding officer | NATO standard rank scale |
|---|---|---|
| Operational flying wings | Group Captain | OF-5 |
| Ground-based wings | Wing Commander | OF-4 |
In mostCommonwealth air forces, as well as some others, a wing is usually made up of three or foursquadrons. In these air forces a wing is inferior to a group. Originally all wings were usually commanded by awing commander (equivalent to alieutenant colonel). From World War II onwards, operational flying wings have usually been commanded bygroup captains (equivalent tocolonels), whereas ground-based wings have continued to be commanded by wing commanders.
Air forces ofNATO member countries which use the term 'wing' to denote their main formations include theSpanish Air Force (Ala), theHellenic Air Force (πτέρυγα [pteryga]),Royal Norwegian Air Force (luftving,Norwegian for air wing),Royal Danish Air Force (which adopted the English termwing directly, although theDanish word isvinge), theBelgian Air Component (also adopted the English termwing directly), thePolish Air Force (skrzydło) and theSlovak Air Force (krídlo).
Additionally countries influenced by the US in the building of their modern air forces also use the termwing. Several such examples are theRepublic of Korea Air Force, theJapan Air Self-Defense Force, theRoyal Thai Air Force, thePhilippine Air Force, thePeruvian Air Force, theVenezuelan Air Force, theEcuadorian Air Force and theBrazilian Air Force.
A wing may also be used for non-flying units, such as theinfantry forces of theRAF Regiment, (in which a wing equates to abattalion). Additionally,RAF stations are administratively divided into wings.
In 2006,expeditionary air wings were established at the RAF's main operating bases. These expeditionary air wings consist of the deployable elements of the main operating base and other supplementary forces. Expeditionary air wings may be subordinated to anexpeditionary air group.
In theBritishAir Training Corps, a wing consists of a number of squadrons within a designated geographical area, usually named after thecounty in which it is based. In this context, a wing is inferior to a "region" which is made up of six wings. In all, there are 36 Air Training Corps wings in six regions within theUnited Kingdom, each of which is commanded by aRAFVR(T) wing commander.
While the original pre-unificationRoyal Canadian Air Force followed the British pattern and used squadrons, which belonged to wings, which in turn belonged to groups, the modernRoyal Canadian Air Force has eliminated groups. Squadrons still report to wings which now report to one of two air divisions. Wings vary greatly in size and may comprise personnel numbering in the hundreds or thousands.
In the 1990s, theCanadian Forces Air Command (the post-1968 RCAF until 2011) altered the structure of thosebases under its control, declaring them to be wings under the overall control of1 Canadian Air Division inWinnipeg. For instance,CFB Trenton in Ontario was redesignated 8 Wing Trenton. The base commander of these bases (as well as other wings whose headquarters were stood up on bases not controlled by Air Command, such as 16 Wing atCFB Borden and 1 Wing atCFB Kingston) were re-designated Wing Commanders (or Wg Comd). As well as continuing their functions as the commanding officers of the bases they were assigned to, they also serve as formation commanders to all squadrons and units duly assigned to them by 1 Canadian Air Division or 2 Canadian Air Division (regardless if they are physically located on the base in question or elsewhere; as witness12 Wing in Nova Scotia, which has one unit,443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron, based atPatricia Bay nearCFB Esquimalt in British Columbia, on the other side of the country from Shearwater).
By comparison, in theUnited States Air Force, awing is normally the organizational tier below aNumbered Air Force. Most USAF wings are commanded by acolonel, but some are commanded bybrigadier generals. USAF wings are structured to fulfill a mission from a specific base, and contain aheadquarters and four groups: an operations group, a maintenance group, a medical group and a mission support group. Such a wing is referred to as a Combat Wing Organization, which is comparable to abrigade in theUS Army. Other wings, such asAir Expeditionary Wings, exist for various other purposes, and their scope may extend to one base, one theater or worldwide.
InUnited States Air Force usage, a military organization above a squadron level (group,wing,air division,numbered air force, air component command,Major Command (MAJCOM)) is anestablishment, while that of a squadron and lower (squadron,flight, center, complex), if designated as such, is aunit.[6][7]
TheU.S. Army Air Service/U.S. Army Air Corps/U.S. Army Air Forces wings that existed before 1947 are not comparable with the wings of the USAF.World War II wings, for example, were expansive administrative and operational organizations that usually controlled several combatgroups and numerous service organizations, often located at widely scattered locations. Many World War II wings were redesignated as air divisions after the war. Modern wings began with a service test of combat wings in 1947-1948. These wings were temporary Table of Distribution (T/D) organizations, each having a combat group (the only Table of Organization establishment of the wings), an airdrome group, a maintenance and supply group, and a station medical group. At the end of the service test, the Air Force implemented theHobson Plan and replaced these T/D wings with permanentTable of Organization and Equipment (constituted) combat wings having acombat group, anair base group, amaintenance and supply group, and amedical group.
Constituted combat wings are always numbered in a single series beginning with Arabic "1st". Examples:1st Fighter Wing,21st Space Wing, and theStrategic Air Command's509th Bomb Wing. Allconstituted wings have one, two, or three digits in their numerical designations.
In many cases, the numerical designation of the wingcame from the combat group that preceded it and became an integral part of the post-World War II wing. In other words, when the 14th Fighter Wing (later,14th Flying Training Wing) came into existence, it received the 14th numerical designation from the 14th Fighter Group, which had already existed for several years and became the wing's combat component. At the same time, the other component establishments, and units of these establishments, also received the 14th numerical designations, aligning each of them directly to the 14th Wing. However, the tactical squadrons of the combat group retained their separate and distinct numerical designations.
The Air Force has three basic types of wings: operational, air base, and specialized mission. According toAir Force Instruction 38-101 (1994):
In theCivil Air Patrol, there are 52 wings (each of the 50 states plusWashington, D.C., andPuerto Rico). Each wing supervises the individual groups and squadrons in that state, district or commonwealth, which are the basic operational units of the organization. Some wings, for exampleDelaware Wing, have only one group due to the small geographical and manpower size of the wing.
TheUnited States Navy follows the British structure in that a wing is an administrative formation commanding two or moresquadrons ofaircraft that are based on land. Several wings are combined into a Naval Air Force. The several wings assigned to each Fleet Naval Air Force control the wing's type squadrons. Acarrier air wing (CVW, formerly known as acarrier air group) consists of several squadrons and is an operational formation that is based on anaircraft carrier. The squadrons of a CVW are also assigned to administrative type wings (such asStrike Fighter Wing Atlantic). Naval Air Forces are commanded by either arear admiral (upper half) or avice admiral and wings are commanded bycaptains, with the title ofcommodore. Carrier air wings are commanded by either a Navy captain or a USMC colonel with the title of "CAG" (Commander, Air Group), a legacy title from the former carrier air groups.
In theUnited States Marine Corps, a Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) is an overall command, equivalent to aMarine Division, consisting of at least twoMarine Aircraft Groups, aMarine Air Control Group (MACG), aMarine Wing Headquarters Squadron (MWHS), and a Marine Wing Headquarters (the Wing Commander and his staff). Being equivalent to adivision in size, its commander is usually amajor general.
Unlike their USAF counterparts, all USN and USMC air wings are tenant activities ashore and have no command responsibility for the installation at which they are normally based when not afloat or forward deployed.Naval air stations and Marine Corps air stations (and facilities) have separate commanding officers that are independent of the operational wing structure. Many mission support functions on these installations, such as personnel support and medical/dental facilities, are also independent of both the air wing and air station command structures and are independent tenant commands with their own commanding officers or officers-in-charge.
TheUnited States Space Force has a single command echelon known as adelta which combines the wing andgroup echelons found in air forces.[8]
In other languages, equivalent air force units equivalent to a US wing include:Geschwader in the GermanLuftwaffe;Aviatsionniy Polk (Aviation Regiment) in Russia;Stormo in Italy; andescadre orrégiment in theFrench Air Force. (Escadre is also the officialCanadian French translation of wing in theCanadian Forces.) The FrenchEscadre and the GermanGeschwader originate from the naval termsquadron. A similar formation in theSwedish Air Force is the Flygflottilj, which translates in English as air wing (literal meaning is airflotilla or flight flotilla). Among the NATO member countries theTurkish Air Force (Ana Üssü,Turkish formain base) and theBulgarian Air Force (авиобаза [aviobaza],Bulgarian forair base oraviation base) use the termair base for their main formations. These air bases arebrigade-equivalents commanded bybrigadier generals unlike the air wings of other NATO members, which areregiment-equivalents commanded bycolonels. TheRoyal Netherlands Air Force (vliegbasis,Dutch foraviation base orair base), thePortuguese Air Force (base aérea), theCzech Air Force (základna letectva,Czech forair base oraviation base) and theCroatian Air Force (zrakoplovna baza,Croatian foraviation base) use the term air base forregiment-equivalents commanded by colonels in a direct parallel to the wings of other member states.
| Unit type | Commanding officer |
|---|---|
| Taktisches Luftwaffengeschwader (en: Tactical Air Force Wing) | Geschwaderkommodore (OF-5) |
| Fliegerabwehrraketengeschwader (en: Air Defence Missile Wing) | Geschwaderkommodore (OF-5) |
Non-English equivalents of the British wing include the GermanGruppe, ItalianGruppo, and Frenchgroupe.
The World War II German LuftwaffeGeschwader andGruppe were similar to the wing and group of theUnited States Army Air Forces of the same era.
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