Hauptfeldwebel (rank)

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Hauptfeldwebel
Heer and Luftwaffe shoulder insignia
Country	Germany
Service branch	German Army  German Air Force
Abbreviation	HptFw
Rank	Unteroffiziere mit Portepee grade
NATO rank code	OR-7 / OR-8
Non-NATO rank	E-7
Formation	1957
Next higher rank	Stabsfeldwebel
Next lower rank	Oberfeldwebel
Equivalent ranks	Hauptbootsmann

Hauptfeldwebel (HptFw or HF; lit. 'Head field usher') is the third highest Non-commissioned officer (NCO) grade in German Army and German Air Force.^[1] It is grouped as OR-7 / OR-8 in NATO, equivalent to US Army Sergeant 1st Class and Master Sergeant.^[2] In army/ air force context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as Herr Hauptfeldwebel also informally / short Hauptfeld.

History[]

The Hauptfeldwebel introduced by the German Wehrmacht in 1938, was not as a military rank but an assignment to "company sergeant" (German: Kompaniefeldwebel or Spiess). Most experienced Portepée-NCO with the rank Stabsfeldwebel or Oberfeldwebel (more seldom Feldwebel) have been assigned to that distinguished position. The equivalent assignment in the Waffen-SS was the SS-Stabsscharführer.

The assignment was also used in the GDR National People's Army from 1956 until 1990.

In 1957, the rank was introduced in the West German Armed Forces.

Rank sequence[]

The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group (Senior NCOs with portepee) is as follows:

• OR-9: Oberstabsfeldwebel / Oberstabsbootsmann
• OR-8: Stabsfeldwebel / Stabsbootsmann
• OR-7: Hauptfeldwebel / Hauptbootsmann
• OR-6: Oberfeldwebel / Oberbootsmann
• OR-6: Feldwebel / Bootsmann

Reference[]

Sources[]

• BROCKHAUS, Die Enzyklopädie in 24 Bänden (1796–2001), Band 5: 3-7653-3665-3, S. 487, Definition: Hauptfeldwebel/Oberfähnrich
• BROCKHAUS, Die Enzyklopädie in 24 Bänden (1796–2001), Band 7: 3-7653-3676-9, S. 185, Hauptfeldwebel