Obersturmführer
Obersturmführer (German: [ˈoːbɐʃtʊʁmˌfyːʁɐ], lit. 'Senior storm leader'; 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.
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.