Air commodore-in-chief

Last updated

Air Commodore-in-Chief is a senior honorary air force appointment which originated in the Royal Air Force and now exists in the air forces of various Commonwealth realms. Appointees are made Air Commodore-in-Chief of a large air force organisation or formation. Initially only the British monarch held air commodore-in-chief appointments. However, since the second half of the 20th century, other members of the royal family have been appointed to such positions in the United Kingdom and the other realms such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand. As of 2020, these appointments have been given to just six senior members of the royal family, of whom four were reigning or future monarchs of the Commonwealth realms.

Contents

Air commodore-in-chief appointments do not confer a rank, be it air commodore or otherwise. Air commodore-in-chief appointments are more senior than honorary air commodore appointments. The equivalent naval title of Commodore-in-Chief was introduced in 2006.

Air commodores-in-chief

Prince Edward, Prince of Wales

Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and then Duke of Windsor), held the following appointments:

Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom

King George VI

King George VI held the following appointments:

Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II held the following appointments:

Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg Canada
Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom

Prince Philip

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, held the following appointments:

Canadian Red Ensign (1921-1957).svg / Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom

King Charles III

King Charles III, held the following appointments:

Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince George, Duke of Kent</span> British prince (1902–1942)

Prince George, Duke of Kent was a member of the British royal family, the fourth son of King George V and Queen Mary. He was a younger brother of kings Edward VIII and George VI. Prince George served in the Royal Navy in the 1920s and then briefly as a civil servant. He became Duke of Kent in 1934. In the late 1930s he served as an RAF officer, initially as a staff officer at RAF Training Command and then, from July 1941, as a staff officer in the Welfare Section of the RAF Inspector General's Staff. He was killed in the Dunbeath air crash on 25 August 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Michael of Kent</span> British prince (born 1942)

Prince Michael of Kent is a member of the British royal family who is 52nd in line to the British throne as of January 2024. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were first cousins through their fathers, King George VI, and Prince George, Duke of Kent. Michael's mother Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark was also a first cousin of the Queen's husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, making him both a second cousin and first cousin once removed to King Charles III.

Air commodore is a air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from 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.

Colonel-in-chief is a ceremonial position in a military regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Slessor</span> Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1897-1979)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Cotesworth Slessor, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF), serving as Chief of the Air Staff from 1950 to 1952. As a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, he saw action with No. 17 Squadron in the Middle East, earning the Military Cross, and with No. 5 Squadron on the Western Front, where he was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre. Between the wars he commanded No. 4 Squadron in England, and No. 3 (Indian) Wing, earning the Distinguished Service Order for operations with the latter in Waziristan. In 1936, he published Air Power and Armies, which examined the use of air power against targets on and behind the battlefield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Efficiency Award</span>

The Air Efficiency Award, post-nominal letters AE for officers, was instituted in 1942. It could be awarded after ten years of meritorious service to officers, airmen and airwomen in the Auxiliary and Volunteer Air Forces of the United Kingdom and the Territorial Air Forces and Air Force Reserves of the Dominions, the Indian Empire, Burma, the Colonies and Protectorates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Symonds</span>

Air Vice Marshal Sir Charles Putnam Symonds was an English neurologist and a senior medical officer in the Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Dalton</span> Royal Air Force air marshal

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Gary George Dalton, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Air Force and former Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Harper (RAF officer)</span> Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal (born 1957)

Air Marshal Sir Christopher Nigel Harper, is a senior Royal Air Force officer, who served as the UK Military Representative to NATO and the European Union from 2011 to 2013 and as Director General of the NATO International Military Staff from 2013 to 2016. He was previously Deputy Commander Allied Joint Force Command at Brunssum in the Netherlands (2009–11), and Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in the UK (2007–09).

Air Vice Marshal George Arthur Chesworth was a senior Royal Air Force officer and Lord Lieutenant of Moray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Stacey Hodson</span> Royal Air Force Air Vice-Marshal (1899-1976)

Air Vice Marshal George Stacey Hodson, was an air officer of the British Royal Air Force who began his military career as a World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories. In the course of his 34 years service, he rose to become a major commander during World War II.

The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginning of 1946. They were announced on 1 January 1946 for the United Kingdom, and Dominions, Canada, the Union of South Africa, and New Zealand.

The 1944 King's Birthday Honours, celebrating the official birthday of King George VI, were announced on 2 June 1944 for the United Kingdom and British Empire, New Zealand, and South Africa.

References

  1. "No. 33831". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1932. p. 3582.
  2. The Air Force List, September 1943
  3. 1 2 "air commodore-in-chief | air force | king | 1950 | 1255 | Flight Archive". www.flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012.
  4. "The Air Cadet Organisation Web Site". Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  5. "No. 38077". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 September 1947. p. 4469.
  6. "No. 40140". The London Gazette . 11 April 1950. p. 2051.
  7. "No. 40140". The London Gazette . 6 April 1954. p. 2051.
  8. 1 2 "No. 39864". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2995.
  9. "New Zealand Defence Force marks passing of Queen Elizabeth II". 9 September 2022.
  10. 1 2 3 "No. 39863". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. p. 2940.
  11. "No. 47237". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 June 1977. p. 7127.
  12. "Honorary Appointments to the New Zealand Defence Force". New Zealand Gazette . 6 August 2015.
  13. "KING CHARLES III BECOMES AIR COMMODORE-IN-CHIEF OF THE RAF". raf.mod.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2023.