Obersturmführer (German: [ˈoːbɐʃtʊʁmˌfyːʁɐ], lit. 'Senior storm leader';[1][2] short: Ostuf) was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK.
| Obersturmführer | |
|---|---|
 SS collar patches | |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Service branch |  Schutzstaffel Sturmabteilung National Socialist Motor Corps National Socialist Flyers Corps |
| Abbreviation | Ostuf |
| NATO rank code | OF-1 |
| Formation | 1932 |
| Abolished | 1945 |
| Next higher rank | Hauptsturmführer |
| Next lower rank | Untersturmführer |
| Equivalent ranks | Oberleutnant |
The rank of Obersturmführer was first created in 1932 as the result of an expansion of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the need for an additional rank in the officer corps. Obersturmführer also became an SS rank at that same time.[3]
An SA-Obersturmführer was typically a junior company commander in charge of fifty to a hundred men. Within the SS, the rank of Obersturmführer carried a wider range of occupations including staff aide, Gestapo officer, concentration camp supervisor, and Waffen-SS platoon commander. Within both the SS and SA, the rank of Obersturmführer was considered the equivalent of an Oberleutnant in the German Wehrmacht.[4]
The insignia for Obersturmführer was three silver pips and a silver stripe centered on a uniform collar patch. The rank was senior to an Untersturmführer (or Sturmführer in the SA[1]) and junior to the rank of Hauptsturmführer.[4]
Rank insignia
edit| Obersturmführer SS, SA, NSKK, and NSFK | ||||||
|
Schutzstaffel (SS) |
Sturmabteilung (SA) |
NS Motor Corps (NSSKK) |
NS Flyers Corps (NSFK) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Waffen-SS |
|
collar insignia | ||||
| Sequence of ranks in comparison with Wehrmacht | ||
| junior rank SS-Untersturmführer |
SS Rank Obersturmführer |
senior rank
|
SA-Sturmführer |
SA Rank Obersturmführer |
|
Leutnant (OF-1b) |
 Wehrmacht rankOberleutnant (OF-1a)[5] |
Hauptmann / Rittmeister (OF-2) |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ a b McNab 2009b, p. 15.
- ^ Stein 1984, p. 297.
- ^ McNab 2009, pp. 29, 30.
- ^ a b Flaherty 2004, p. 148.
- ^ The abbreviation "OF" stands for de: "Offizier / en: officer / fr: officier / ru: офицер".
Bibliography
edit- Flaherty, T. H. (2004) [1988]. The Third Reich: The SS. Time-Life Books, Inc. ISBN 1-84447-073-3.
- McNab, Chris (2009). The SS: 1923–1945. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-49-5.
- McNab, Chris (2009b). The Third Reich. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-51-8.
- Stein, George (1984) [1966]. The Waffen-SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War 1939–1945. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-9275-0.