Air Marshal (
Air Mshl or
AM) is a
3 star
air officer rank which originated in and
continues to be used by the
Royal Air
Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many
countries which have historical British influence and it is
sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in
countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank
structure. Officers in the rank of Air Marshal typically hold very
senior appointments such
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 sometimes considered generically
to be air marshals. Occasionally, air force officers of
marshal rank are considered to be
air marshals.
Seniority
Air
Marshal is a 3 star rank and has a
NATO
ranking code of OF-8, equivalent to a Vice-Admiral in the Royal
Navy or a Lieutenant-General
in the British Army or the Royal Marines.
The rank of Air Marshal is immediately senior to the rank of
Air Vice-Marshal and immediately
subordinate to the rank of
Air Chief
Marshal.
Origins
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, 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 the
rank equivalent to a Vice-Admiral and Lieutenant-General. However,
Air Marshal was preferred and was adopted on 1 August 1919. The
rank of Air Marshal was first used on 11 August 1919 when
Sir Hugh Trenchard
was promoted to the rank and it has been used ever since.
The
Australian Air Corps
adopted 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.
RAF Insignia, command flag and star plate
The rank insignia consists of two narrow light blue bands (each on
a slightly wider black band) over a light blue band on a broad
black band. This is worn on the both the lower sleeves of the tunic
or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual 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.
Image:UK-Air-OF8.svg|An RAF air marshal's sleeve/shoulder
insigniaFile:File-UK-Air-OF8-mess-insignia.svg|An RAF air marshal's
mess sleeve insigniaImage:UK-Air-OF8-Flag.svg|An RAF air marshal's
command flagImage:Air Marshal star plate.svg|An RAF air marshal's
star plate
Other air forces
The rank of Air Marshal is also used in a number of the air forces
in the
Commonwealth,
including the
Bangladesh Air
Force,
Indian Air Force,
Pakistan Air Force,
Royal Australian Air Force and
Royal New Zealand Air
Force. It is also used in the
Egyptian Air Force,
Nigerian Air Force,
Ghana Air Force,
Hellenic Air Force
(
Antipterarchos),
Air
Force of Zimbabwe (including its predecessor, the
Rhodesian Air Force) and the
Royal Thai Air Force. In the
Indonesian Air Force, the
equivalent rank is
Marsekal Madya (literally "Vice
Marshal") which is often translated as Air Marshal in
English.Image:RAAF O9 rank.png|An RAAF air marshal's
sleeve/shoulder insigniaImage:Thai air O8.png|A Royal Thai Air
Force air marshal's rank insigniaImage:Hellenic Air Force
OF-8.svg|A
Hellenic Air Force air
marshal's rank insigniaImage:Air Marshal of IAF.png|An
Indian Air Force air marshal's shoulder
patch
Royal Australian Air Force
In Australia, there are four appointments available for Air
Marshals: the
Chief of
Air Force (CAF) and, at times when they are occupied by an air
force officer, the
Vice Chief of
Defence Force (VCDF), the Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS),
and the Chief - Capability Development Group (CCDG).
Royal New Zealand Air 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 the
New Zealand Defence Force, he is
granted the rank of air marshal. The last air force Chief of the
Defence Force was Air Marshal Sir
Bruce
Ferguson who served in that appointment from 2001 to
2006.
Royal Canadian Air Force
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
French Canadian usage, the rank title was
maréchal de
l'air. The Canadian Chief of the Air Staff ordinarily held the
rank of Air Marshal.
Marshal ranks
The
Brazilian Air Force does not
use air marshal ranks as an equivalent to general ranks, rather it
uses a number of ranks based on the word
brigadier. However,
its highest rank is
Marechal-do-ar which is a
5 star rank and equivalent to a
Brazilian Army marshal.
Marechal-do-ar is
sometimes translated as
air marshal but as it is a
marshal rank, it might also be translated as
marshal of the air or
marshal of the air
force.
Similarly, the
Royal Malaysian
Air Force's 5 star rank of
Marshal Udara may be
translated as
Air Marshal or
Marshal of the Royal
Malaysian Air Force.
Marshals of the Royal
Air Force are also occasionally described as air
marshals.
See also
References
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