''Hauptfeldwebel '' (HptFw or HF; ) is the third highest
Non-commissioned officer (NCO) grade in
German Army and
German Air Force. It is grouped as OR-7 / OR-8 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 No ...
, equivalent to US Army
Sergeant 1st Class and
Master Sergeant.
In army/ air force context NCOs of this rank were formally addressed as ''Herr Hauptfeldwebel'' also informally / short ''Hauptfeld''.
History
The ''
Hauptfeldwebel
In the German Wehrmacht, Hauptfeldwebel (short: HptFw; address: ''Herr Hauptfeldwebel'') was not a rank but a position title, assignment or appointment, equivalent to the Commonwealth company sergeant major or U.S. company-level first serge ...
'' introduced 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 1938, was not as a military rank but an assignment to "company sergeant" (german: Kompaniefeldwebel or ). 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
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
was the SS-''
Stabsscharführer''.
The assignment was also 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.
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: /
*OR-8: /
*OR-7: /
*OR-6: /
*OR-6: /
References
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''
{{German military ranks
Military ranks of Germany