Master aircrew

Master aircrew (MAcr) is the warrant-officer rank held by aircrew in the Royal Air Force. It is equivalent to warrant officer in other trades, and is effectively the highest non-commissioned aircrew rank. It has a NATO rank code of OR-9.

A master aircrew's rank insignia
RAF master aircrew as it appears on dress uniform

People holding this rank used to be referred to by different titles depending on their specialisation:

  • Master Signaller (MSig)
  • Master Engineer (MEng)
  • Master Air Electronics Operator (MAEOp)
  • Master Air Loadmaster (MALM).

This rank is the sole survivor of a system of separate ranks for aircrew which existed between 1 July 1946 and 1950 (another system for technical staff existed between 1950 and 1964). Other designations, such as master pilot and master navigator, once existed, but now these specialisations are only held by officers.

The badge of rank is a small version of the Royal Arms (as worn by a warrant officer) with an eagle below, all surrounded by a wreath. Master aircrew receive a warrant signed by the Secretary of State for Defence.

New Zealand

The Royal New Zealand Air Force used the rank until June 2007 when the Master Aircrew rank reverted to Warrant Officer.[1]

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gollark: No, it's as hot as the rest of the CPU, roughly.
gollark: > The ES runs asynchronously on a self-timed circuit and uses thermal noise within the silicon to output a random stream of bits at the rate of 3 GHz. The ES needs no dedicated external power supply to run, instead using the same power supply as other core logic. The ES is designed to function properly over a wide range of operating conditions, exceeding the normal operating range of the processor.It isn't very specific.
gollark: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/developer/articles/guide/intel-digital-random-number-generator-drng-software-implementation-guide.html
gollark: I vaguely remember reading that they or some similar system use thermal noise measured with a ring oscillator.

See also
  • RAF enlisted ranks

References
  1. http://www.airforce.mil.nz/about-us/news/airforce-news/archive/84/new-era-master-aircrew.htm
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