Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving Marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal. Although general promotions to Marshal of the Royal Air Force have been discontinued since the British defence cuts of the 1990s, further promotions to the rank may still be made in wartime, for members of the Royal Family and certain very senior RAF air officers in peacetime at the discretion of the monarch; all such promotions in peacetime are only honorary, however. In 2012, the then Prince of Wales was promoted to the rank in recognition of his support for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in her capacity as head of the armed forces (commander-in-chief), while in 2014 Lord Stirrup, who had served as Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Defence Staff for over seven years, was also promoted.
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-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.
Personnel and Training Command (PTC) was one of two commands of the Royal Air Force that were merged to form Air Command on 1 April 2007.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the First World War as a staff officer and then as director-general of military aeronautics and subsequently as controller-general of equipment. In the inter-war years he held command positions in the Middle East, in India and then in Iraq. He served as Chief of the Air Staff in the mid-1930s and in that role he implemented a plan, known as 'Scheme F'. This scheme implemented an increase in the size of the Royal Air Force to 187 squadrons within three years to counter the threat from Hitler's Germany. He also broke up the command known as "Air Defence of Great Britain" to create RAF Fighter Command, RAF Bomber Command, RAF Coastal Command and RAF Training Command. He then served as Inspector-General of the RAF until his retirement in 1940.
Lieutenant general, formerly more commonly lieutenant-general, is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. It is the equivalent of a multinational three-star rank; some British lieutenant generals sometimes wear three-star insignia, in addition to their standard insignia, when on multinational operations.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Stuart Burnett, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the first half of the 20th century. He was Air Officer Commanding Iraq Command during the early 1930s. During the Second World War, he served as Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Australian Air Force.
Air Marshal Sir Ernest Leslie Gossage, was an officer of the British Army and then of the Royal Air Force. He served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Balloon Command from 1940 to 1944.
The Inspector-General of the RAF was a senior appointment in the Royal Air Force, responsible for the inspection of airfields. The post existed from 1918 to 1920 and from 1935 until the late 1960s. For much of World War II, a second inspector-general post existed.
Air Commodore Richard Charles Montagu Pink, was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He distinguished himself during service with the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Air Service in the First World War, before joining the RAF shortly after its creation in 1918. He is the namesake of Pink's War, which was the first campaign conducted by the RAF alone and the only campaign to be named after an RAF officer.
The Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) was a senior appointment in the Royal Air Force. The incumbent was the deputy to the Chief of the Air Staff. The post existed from 1918 to 1969. Today, the Chief of the Air Staff's deputy is titled as the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff.
No. 1 Wing of the Royal Air Force was a Wing of aircraft squadrons which was originally established as the First Wing of the Royal Flying Corps.
The Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment is the Royal Air Force commander of the RAF Regiment. The post was established in January 1942 immediately prior to the creation of the RAF Regiment. The first two holders of the post were major-generals in the British Army. From 1948 onward, the Commandant-General has been an RAF officer of air rank. These officers all held the rank of air vice-marshal until 1993 when the post was downgraded to air commodore. In 2022, the position was more upgraded to Air Vice-Marshal with the appoint of AVM Michael Smeath.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Douglas Stear, was a senior commander of the Royal Air Force (RAF). He served as Deputy Commander in Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe from 1992 to 1996.
The British Vice-Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) was the post occupied by the senior Royal Air Force officer who served as a senior assistant to the Chief of the Air Staff. The post was created during World War II on 22 April 1940 and its incumbent sat on the Air Council. It was abolished in 1985 when the post's responsibilities were combined with those of the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) and the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) to create a single post, the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff.
No. 219 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was founded in 1918 and disbanded in 1957 after four separate periods of service. During the First World War it served as a coastal defence unit, and through most of the Second World War and the 1950s it operated as a night fighter air defence squadron. Three commanders of the squadron went on to be Chiefs of the Air Staff, two of the RAF and one of the Royal Pakistani Air Force.
Controller Aircraft (CA), originally Controller of Aircraft, is a senior British Ministry of Defence appointment who is responsible for delivering an airworthy aircraft to the Services, whereupon the Service issues a Release to Service (RTS), releasing the aircraft into service. The difference between CA Release and RTS is normally one of Build Standard. Although usually held by a Royal Air Force officer, several civil servants have held the post in the 20th century. The incumbent is a member of the Air Force Board.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Francis Joseph Fogarty, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War and also in the post-war years. During the First World War he served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. He was transferred to the RAF on its creation in 1918 and remained in the service during the inter-war years.
The Air Member for Materiel is the senior Royal Air Force officer responsible for procurement matters. The post-holder is a member of the Air Force Board and is in charge of all aspects of procurement and organisation for RAF regular, reserve and civilian staffs worldwide.
