COMPARATIVE TABLE OF WAFFEN-SS RANKS TO US ARMY RANKS

                     TYPICAL PANZER UNIT 

WAFFEN-SS RANK       TACTICAL DUTY POSITION     US ARMY RANK

Officers

SS-Obersturmbannführer Battalion Commander      Lieutenant Colonel

SS-Sturmbannführer   Battalion Commander        Major

SS-Hauptsturmführer  Company Commander          Captain

SS-Obersturmführer   Platoon Leader             First Lieutenant

SS-Untersturmführer  Platoon Leader             Second Lieutenant

Noncommissioned Officers

SS-Sturmscharführer  Battalion Senior NCO       Sergeant Major

SS-Hauptscharführer  Battalion or Company       Master Sergeant

                     Senior NCO    

SS-Oberscharführer   Platoon or Section Leader  Technical Sergeant

SS-Scharführer       Tank Commander, Gunner,    Staff Sergeant

                     Driver

SS-Unterscharführer  Tank Commander, Gunner,    Sergeant

                     Driver

Enlisted Men

SS-Rottenführer      Gunner, Driver, Loader,    Corporal

                     Radio Operator

SS-Sturmmann         Gunner, Driver, Loader,    Corporal

                        Radio Operator

SS-Panzeroberschütze Loader, Radio Operator     Private First Class

SS-Panzerschütze     Loader, Radio Operator     Private

Note 1:  Waffen-SS officer candidate ranks are not included in this list.  Officer candidates in panzer units had attended one of the SS officer training schools and were performing senior officer candidate duties.  The unit commanding officer decided when the officer candidates in his unit were ready to be junior officers, at which time they were commissioned.  NCOs who were serving in units as senior officer candidates held the rank of SS-Standardentoberjunker or SS-Standartenjunker.

Note 2:  While Waffen-SS enlisted and NCO ranks may be compared to American army ranks of World War II, the jobs and duties were often not equivalent.  At battalion and company level an NCO was assigned to the duty position of Stabscharführer, called der "Spiess” (the “spear”).  This NCO, who could be any noncommissioned rank but was often the unit’s senior NCO, performed mostly administrative duties and usually did not participate in actual combat.  Lower-ranking leaders (SS-Unterscharführer, SS-Rottenführer) often had more responsibility in their duty positions than their US equivalents.  The "Reichsrottenführer" was Waffen-SS slang for a lower-ranking but highly experienced junior leader who had "seen it all" and who could be counted on to take command of his tank or unit if necessary.