Plutonowy (literally ''
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...
-man'') is an
NCO rank in the
Polish Armed Forces rank insignia system, located between the ranks of
Senior Corporal and
Sergeant. As one of two OR-4 ranks in the Polish Army (the other being the rank of starszy kapral), the rank of plutonowy could be considered a Polish equivalent of
Corporal
Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...
,
Unteroffizier
() is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army.
Austria
, also , is the collective name to ...
or
Master corporal in other
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 ...
armies. The direct translation of Corporal to Polish, the
rank of ''kapral'' is a lower grade in Polish Armed Forces, equivalent to OR-3 grades of other armies, such as
Lance corporal
Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...
or
Private first class.
The rank was introduced in the Polish Army in 1919. Initially graded as one of "younger NCO" class, since 1967 it is considered one of "older NCO" class. Currently a non-commissioned officer in the rank of plutonowy in most cases occupies the post of a troop commanding officers, or a chief of a single machine in technical services (radio station commander, electricity plant commander and so on).
The rank of plutonowy is paralleled in the
Polish Navy by the rank of
bosmanmat (literally
boatswain
A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervise ...
-mate).
Until 1967 the rank insignia of a plutonowy were three bars. In that year, as part of a set of changes modifying the service in the Polish Army to better fit the Soviet scheme, a fourth bar was added.
{{Military of Poland , state=collapsed
Military ranks of Poland