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Wing commander is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical British influence, including many Commonwealth countries but not including Canada and South Africa. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. It ranks immediately above squadron leader and immediately below group captain.
Air Chief Marshal is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admiral in a navy or a full general in an army or other nations' air forces.
Air Chief Marshal Sir John Alexander Carlisle Aiken, was a senior Royal Air Force (RAF) officer, and the Commander of British forces in Cyprus at the time of the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Edward Johns, is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander. He was a fighter pilot in the 1960s, commanding officer of a squadron during the 1970s and a station commander in the 1980s. Johns served as one of three British directors of operations on the senior planning staff for Operation Granby in 1991 and then acted as a supporting commander for joint operations in the Balkans in 1994. As Chief of the Air Staff he advised the British Government on the air force aspects of the Strategic Defence Review and on NATO's air campaign in Kosovo.
British Forces Cyprus (BFC) is the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus and at a number of related 'retained sites' in the Republic of Cyprus. The United Kingdom retains a military presence on the island in order to keep a strategic location at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, for use as a staging point for forces sent to locations in the Middle East and Asia. BFC is a tri-service command, with all three services based on the island reporting to it.
The United Kingdom's Strategic Command (StratCom), previously known as Joint Forces Command (JFC), manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael James Graydon, is a retired Royal Air Force (RAF) officer. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1960s, a squadron commander in the 1970s and a station commander in the 1980s before serving as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Strike Command during the Gulf War. He was Chief of the Air Staff from 1992 to 1997 in which role he advised the British Government on the implementation of No Fly Zones in Iraq and Bosnia and implemented the Front Line First initiative.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Denis Graham Smallwood, was a senior Royal Air Force commander.
Air Marshal Sir Kenneth William Hayr, was a senior Royal Air Force commander who served as Deputy Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Strike Command and Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments).
Air Vice Marshal Richard Howard Lacey, is a retired Royal Air Force officer who served as the Commander of British Forces Cyprus and UK National Military Representative to the NATO HQ at SHAPE in Belgium.
Air Commodore Raymond John Offord, AFC was a senior Royal Air Force officer in the Cold War period, and the seventeenth Commandant Royal Observer Corps. Offord was Station Commander of RAF Lossiemouth from 1974 to 1975 and held the dual appointments of Air Officer Commanding Air Headquarters Cyprus and Deputy Commander, British Forces Near East / Cyprus from 1983 to 1985.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Thomas Öther Prickett, was a Royal Air Force bomber pilot in the Second World War and a senior commander in the 1950s and 1960s. He was chief of staff to the air commander, Air Marshal Denis Barnett, for Operation Musketeer.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Denis Hensley Fulton Barnett, was a squadron commander and senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. In the post war years he held high command, serving as the British air commander during the Suez War and subsequently the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Transport Command and the Commander of British Forces Cyprus.
Air Vice-Marshal David Paul Murray, is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Defence Services Secretary in the Royal Household from 2010 to 2012. He is currently a member of the Veterans Advisory Board and a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Suffolk.
Air Vice Marshal Alexander Freeland Cairns "Sandy" Hunter, is a former Royal Air Force officer who served as Commandant of the RAF Staff College, Bracknell.
Air Marshal Sir Roy David Austen-Smith, was a Royal Air Force air marshal who served as Commander of British Forces Cyprus.
Air Vice Marshal Robert Leslie Davis, is a former Royal Air Force officer who served as Commander British Forces Cyprus from 1980 to 1983.
Air Vice Marshal Peter Millar, is a former Royal Air Force officer who served as Commander of British Forces Cyprus from 1995 to 1998.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Wigston, is a former senior officer in the Royal Air Force, who served as Chief of the Air Staff from 26 July 2019 until 2 June 2023. He previously served as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff from 2017 to 2018, and Deputy Commander (Personnel) and Air Member for Personnel and Capability from 2018 to 2019.
Air Vice-Marshal Peter James Murray Squires, is a senior Royal Air Force officer, who currently serves as the Commander of British Forces Cyprus. From August 2016 to October 2019 he served as Commandant of RAF College Cranwell. He was formerly a Harrier pilot and served as commander of No. 100 Squadron RAF, flying BAE Systems Hawks.
References
- 1 2 Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4081-1414-8
- ↑ "Ministry of Defence and Senior Tri-Service Appointments" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2015.