26-500: Air marshal ( Air Mshl or AM ) is an air-officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force . The rank is used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence, including many Commonwealth nations . The rank is usually equivalent to a vice admiral or a lieutenant general . Air marshal is immediately senior to the rank of air vice-marshal and immediately subordinate to
52-1015: A Service Chief of Staff, he has the right of direct access to the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister. CAS chairs the Air Force Board Standing Committee, and is a member of the Defence Council, the Air Force Board, the Armed Forces Committee, the Chiefs' of Staff Committee and the Senior Appointments Committee. Current responsibilities for CAS include: The post of Chief of the Air Staff (CAS)
78-399: A broad black band. This is worn on the lower sleeves of the dress uniform or on shoulders of the flying suit or working uniform. The command flag for an air marshal is defined by the single broad red band running in the centre of the flag. The vehicle star plate for an air marshal depicts three white stars (air marshal is equivalent to a three-star rank) on an air force blue background. In
104-517: A general officer. In 1919 when the RAF introduced its own air officer ranks, the preceding RAF and equivalent army rank was brigadier-general , which was a general officer rank until its abolition in 1922. In some other countries — most notably the armed forces of the United States — Army, Air Force and Marine Corps one-star officers are considered to be general officers, and one-star officers of
130-541: The Brazilian Air Force , the highest rank is Marechal-do-ar , a five-star officer, which can be translated as "air marshal" or "marshal of the air". The rank is equivalent to marshal in the Brazilian Army or marshal of the air force elsewhere. In 1927, the rank of Luftmarsk ( transl. air marshal ) was proposed by Christian Førslev as a rank for the potential Chief of
156-667: The Royal Air Force and a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Air Force Board . The post was created in 1918 with Major General Sir Hugh Trenchard as the first incumbent. The current and 30th Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton , who succeeded Sir Michael Wigston on 2 June 2023. As the RAF progressively adopts responsibility for Air Capability planning and management from MOD Head Office, CAS will be responsible for commissioning RAF equipment, materiel and other support requirements. As
182-589: The Vice Chief of Defence Force , the Chief of Joint Operations , and the Chief of Capability Development Group . The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) used the rank until the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces , when army-type rank titles were adopted and an air marshal became a lieutenant-general . In official Canadian French usage, the rank title was maréchal de l'air . The Canadian Chief of
208-499: The Air Staff ordinarily held the rank of air marshal. The following RCAF officers held the rank (dates in rank in parentheses): The rank of air marshal was the highest in the Indian Air Force (IAF), held by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), from 1947 to 1966. In 1966, the rank of CAS was upgraded to air chief marshal and ACM Arjan Singh became the first CAS to hold the four-star rank . The Namibian Air Force adopted
234-638: The Army uses General Officer Commanding (GOC), the Air Force uses Air Officer Commanding (AOC) to designate the senior officer in a formation. Note, however, that in the British Armed Forces , while an air commodore is an air officer, their Royal Navy equivalent ( commodore ) is not considered a flag officer, nor is the British Army or Royal Marines equivalent ( brigadier ) considered
260-522: The British aircraft industry alive. In the end only minimal success was achieved, with only a rump aviation industrial base left by the 1970s. The first eight Chiefs of the Air Staff were originally commissioned in the British Army, with four coming from the infantry, two from the artillery and one each from the cavalry and the engineers. Of these both Lord Trenchard and Sir John Salmond each held
286-536: The Navy and Coast Guard are considered to be flag officers. There are multiple air officer command appointments. Additionally the RAF maintains two home country air officer appointments. These are Air Officer Scotland and the Air Officer for Wales. On ceremonial occasions, many RAF air officers are entitled to wear embellished shoulder boards and the gold and blue sash. This applies to all officers at or above
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#1732790741106312-619: The New Zealand Defence Force , he is granted the rank of air marshal. The current Chief of Defence Force is an RNZAF officer, Air Marshal Tony Davies. Other officers to hold the air marshal rank in New Zealand are: Prior to the adoption of RAF-specific rank titles in 1919, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy's officer ranks, with the word "air" inserted before the naval rank title. For example,
338-558: The RAF rank system in 2010 previously having been using army ranks and insignia. However the rank of air marshal was not used until 1 April 2020 when Martin Pinehas was promoted to that rank and appointed as Chief of the Namibian Defence Force . In New Zealand, the head of the air force holds the lower rank of air vice-marshal. However, when an air force officer holds the country's senior military appointment, Chief of
364-577: The RAF rank system on 9 November 1920 and this usage was continued by its successor, the Royal Australian Air Force . However, the rank of air marshal was not used by the Australian Armed Forces until 1940 when Richard Williams , an RAAF officer, was promoted. In Australia, there are four appointments available for air marshals: the Chief of Air Force and, at times when they are occupied by an air force officer,
390-479: The RAF should be broken up, but Trenchard's foundations proved solid. By the time the Second World War broke out in 1939, the then occupant of the post, Air Chief Marshal Sir Cyril Newall , had a service that had been undergoing the most rapid of expansions during the British rearmament programs of the late 1930s. Newall gave way in 1940 to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal , who led the service for
416-484: The RAF was formed. With Winston Churchill 's post-war appointment as Secretary of State for War and Air , Sykes was moved sideways to head up the nascent Civil Aviation ministry and Trenchard returned as CAS. In the early 1920s, Trenchard had to fight to keep the RAF from being divided and absorbed back into the Royal Navy and the British Army . After Lord Trenchard retired in 1930 there were still suggestions that
442-424: The RAF. Air officers holding command appointments receive the title Air Officer Commanding (AOC), whereas air officers holding commander-in-chief positions are titled as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C). In the British Armed Forces , where the term originated, an air officer is equivalent in concept to flag officer and general officer in the Royal Navy and Army respectively. Specifically, while
468-478: The Royal Danish Air Force . The rank would have been equivalent to a major general . Air officer An air officer is an air force officer of the rank of air commodore or higher. Such officers may be termed "officers of air rank". While the term originated in the Royal Air Force , air officers are also to be found in many Commonwealth nations who have a similar rank structure to
494-572: The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II , the St Edward's Crown representing royal authority. Prior to 1953, the Tudor Crown (sometimes called the King's Crown) was used. The air officer ranks are as follows: The air officer terminology is currently used by the following air forces: Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) The Chief of the Air Staff ( CAS ) is the professional head of
520-620: The post over two separate periods. By the early mid-1950s sufficient time had elapsed for officers originally commissioned in the British air services of the First World War to have risen through the ranks to RAF's senior post; Sir John Slessor had originally served in the Royal Flying Corps while Sir William Dickson was commissioned into the Royal Naval Air Service . In 1956 Sir Dermot Boyle became
546-465: The rank equivalent to a vice-admiral and lieutenant-general. However, air marshal was preferred and has been used since its adoption in August 1919. Sir Hugh Trenchard , the incumbent Chief of the Air Staff when the rank was introduced, became the first air marshal on 11 August 1919. The rank insignia consists of two narrow light blue bands (each on a slightly wider black band) over a light blue band on
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#1732790741106572-422: The rank of air chief marshal . Officers in the rank of air marshal typically hold very senior appointments such as commander-in-chief of an air force or a large air force formation. Officers in the ranks of air chief marshal and air vice-marshal are also referred to generically as air marshals. Occasionally, air force officers of marshal rank are considered to be air marshals. The Australian Air Corps adopted
598-400: The rank of air vice-marshal and holders of the following air commodore posts: With the exception of marshals of the RAF, the embellished shoulder boards feature the golden air officers' eagle and wreath device surmounted by a lion statant guardant . For marshals of the RAF, the embellished shoulder boards display the air officer's eagle and wreath, two crossed marshal 's batons and, since
624-495: The rank that later became air marshal would have been air vice-admiral. The Admiralty objected to any use of their rank titles, including this modified form, and so an alternative proposal was put forward: air-officer ranks would be based on the term "ardian", which was derived from a combination of the Gaelic words for "chief" ( ard ) and "bird" ( eun ), with the term "second ardian" or "wing ardian" being used specifically for
650-539: The rest of the war. Portal was a tireless defender of the RAF and highly capable in administration and strategy. Postwar the RAF was reoriented to perform the dual roles of defending the shrinking British Empire and possibly fighting against the Soviet Union in a Warsaw Pact verses NATO war over Germany and the United Kingdom. The Chiefs of the Air Staff of the day had to fight a constant battle to keep
676-566: Was established in January 1918, just prior to the official formation of the Royal Air Force (RAF), and its first occupant was Major General Sir Hugh Trenchard . Following Trenchard's resignation in March 1918 after disagreements with the first air minister, Lord Rothermere , his rival Major General Sir Frederick Sykes was appointed. For political reasons Trenchard's resignation did not take effect until late April in order that he would be CAS when
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