You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (January 2021) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 9,120 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Stabsfeldwebel]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Stabsfeldwebel}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  "Oberfeldwebel" –  news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Oberfeldwebel
Heer and Luftwaffe shoulder insignia
Country	Germany
Service branch	German Army   German Air Force
Abbreviation	OFw
Rank	Unteroffiziere mit Portepee grade
NATO rank code	OR-6
Pay grade	A 7mA
Formation	1920 (historic) 1957
Next higher rank	Hauptfeldwebel
Next lower rank	Feldwebel
Equivalent ranks	Oberbootsmann

Oberfeldwebel (OFw or OF) is the fourth highest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. ^[1]

History

The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old army have been promoted.

Within the Reichswehr, Oberfeldwebel was taken over as second-highest Protégée-NCO rank by the German Wehrmacht in 1935. In the military branch cavalry, artillery and anti-aircraft artillery 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 from 1956 until 1990 as well.

Rank information

It is grouped as OR6 in NATO, equivalent in the US Army to Staff Sergeant, or in British Army / RAF to Sergeant.

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

Remark

The abbreviation "OR" stands for "Other Ranks / fr: sous-officiers et militaires du rang / ru:другие ранги, кроме офицероф"!

junior Rank Feldwebel	( German NCO rank) Oberfeldwebel	senior Rank Hauptfeldwebel
		Oberfähnrich

References

Sources

• Die Enzyklopädie in 24 Bänden (1796–2001), Band 5 (in German). Brockhaus. 2001. p. 487. ISBN  3-7653-3665-3.
• Die Enzyklopädie in 24 Bänden (1796–2001), Band 7 (in German). Brockhaus. 2001. p. 185. ISBN  3-7653-3676-9.