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(, ; short: Ostuf) was a Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK.
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.
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.
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) and junior to the rank of Hauptsturmführer.
Rank insignia Obersturmführer SS, SA, NSKK, and NSFKRank insignia Shoulder insignia Camo insignia Gorget patch Schutzstaffel (SS) Sturmabteilung (SA) NS Motor Corps (NSSKK) NS Flyers Corps (NSFK) Waffen-SSAllgemeine-SS Waffen-SS collar insignia
Sequence of ranks in comparison with Wehrmacht junior rankSS-Untersturmführer SS RankObersturmführer senior rank SS-Hauptsturmführer Sturmhauptführer (until 1934) SA-Sturmführer SA RankObersturmführerSA-Hauptsturmführer Sturmhauptführer (until 1939/40)Leutnant (OF-1b) Wehrmacht rankOberleutnant (OF-1a)The abbreviation "OF" stands for de: "Offizier / en: officer / fr: officier / ru: офицер". Hauptmann / Rittmeister (OF-2)
See also Comparative ranks of Nazi Germany Table of ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS
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