(OFw or OF) is the fourth-lowest
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
(NCO) rank in
German Army
The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
and
German Air Force.
[ ]
History
The rank was introduced first by the German
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...
in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the
old army have been promoted.
Within the Reichswehr, was taken over as second-highest Protégée-NCO rank by the German
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
in 1935. In the military branch
cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...
,
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...
and
anti-aircraft artillery
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...
it was called Oberwachtmeister.
The equivalent rank to the Oberfeldwebel in the
Waffen-SS was the
SS-Hauptscharführer from 1938 until 1945.
The
rank has been used in the GDR
National People's Army
The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990.
The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) a ...
from 1956 until 1990 as well.
Rank information
It is grouped as OR6 in
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
, equivalent in the US Army to
Staff Sergeant, or in
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
/ RAF to
Sergeant
Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...
.
In army/ air force context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as ''Herr Oberfeldwebel'' also informally / short ''Oberfeld''.
The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group (''
Senior NCOs with portepee'') is as follows:
*OR-9: /
*OR-8: /
*OR-7: /
*OR-6: /
*OR-6: /
;Remark:
The abbreviation "OR" stands for ''"Other Ranks / fr: sous-officiers et militaires du rang / ru:другие ранги, кроме офицероф"''!
References
Sources
*
*
{{German military ranks
Military ranks of Germany