The following is a list of Australians who have attained air marshal rank within the
Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF); that is, service personnel who have held the rank of
air chief marshal
(
four-star rank
),
air marshal
(
three-star rank
) or
air vice-marshal
(
two-star rank
). The Royal Australian Air Force was established in 1921 as a separate branch of the Australian military forces. The service was modelled after the
Royal Air Force
?formed three years earlier?and adopted
the same ranking system
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
Richard Williams
, regarded as the "father" of the Royal Australian Air Force, was the service's first member to obtain
air-officer
rank on being promoted to
air commodore
(
one-star rank
) in 1927; he went on to become the first air vice-marshal (1935) and air marshal (1940).
[4]
[5]
In 1965,
Sir Frederick Scherger
became the first officer to be advanced to air chief marshal, one of only four members of the Royal Australian Air Force to obtain this rank as of February 2024.
[6]
A further twenty-four individuals have reached air marshal in the RAAF and 144 air vice-marshal; seven officers have retired with the honorary rank of air vice-marshal.
[7]
[8]
Air chief marshals
[
edit
]
This along with the * (asterisk) indicates that the air chief marshal is still a serving member of the RAAF.
- A dash (?) in the "Died" column indicates that the person is still living.
The rank of
air chief marshal
is the most senior rank within the Royal Australian Air Force to which, excluding ceremonial appointments, any officer has ever been promoted. Only the
five-star rank
of
Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force
is higher, but it has been held in only a ceremonial capacity. As there are currently no appointments in the
Australian Defence Force
(ADF) at the five-star level, there is no prospect of a RAAF officer achieving the rank in a professional (i.e. non-ceremonial) capacity. Additionally, Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force is generally considered to be a marshal rank as opposed to an air marshal rank and so the only two individuals ever to hold the rank,
King George VI
and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
, are not listed in a separate section. With the current structure of the ADF, the rank of air chief marshal is held only when an officer of the RAAF is appointed as
Chief of the Defence Force
. As of June 2018, only four officers have obtained the rank of air chief marshal in the RAAF, the first being
Sir Frederick Scherger
in 1965 who was also the first non-Army officer in the Australian military to reach
four-star rank
.
Mark Binskin
is the most-recently promoted of the four, having been advanced to air chief marshal in June 2014.
[6]
[9]
Air chief marshals of the Royal Australian Air Force are as follows:
[10]
Air marshals
[
edit
]
This along with the * (asterisk) indicates that the air marshal is still a serving member of the RAAF.
- A dash (?) in the "Died" column indicates that the person is still living.
Air marshal
is the highest permanent rank in the Royal Australian Air Force. The rank of air marshal is always held by the
Chief of Air Force
, though is also held when a RAAF officer is appointed as
Vice Chief of the Defence Force
,
Chief of Joint Operations
,
Chief of Joint Capabilities
or equivalent positions.
Richard Williams
was the first officer to attain the rank of air marshal in the RAAF on promotion in 1940.
[11]
Regarded as the 'father' of the Royal Australian Air Force, Williams was its first and longest serving chief, being appointed to the post during three different periods and serving for a total of thirteen years.
[4]
[5]
Leon Phillips
is the most recent officer to obtain the rank of air marshal, having been promoted to the rank in May 2023.
[12]
Air marshals of the Royal Australian Air Force are as follows:
[13]
Air vice-marshals
[
edit
]
This along with the * (asterisk) indicates that the air vice-marshal is still a serving member of the RAAF.
This along with the + (plus) indicates that the officer retired with the honorary rank of air vice-marshal.
- A dash (?) in the "Died" column indicates that the person is still living.
The first Royal Australian Air Force air vice-marshal was Richard Williams in 1935;
[4]
he was followed by
Stanley Goble
?Williams' successor all three times he held the position of Chief of the Air Staff?two years later.
[14]
The list of RAAF air vice-marshals includes
Frank McNamara
, the first Australian aviator to be decorated with the
Victoria Cross
(VC). McNamara was awarded the VC in 1917 while serving with the
Australian Flying Corps
, the
Australian Army
's air branch and predecessor of the RAAF, in the
First World War
; he was promoted air vice-marshal in 1942.
[3]
[15]
As of January 2023, six women have reached air vice-marshal rank. On promotion to air vice-marshal in 2003,
Julie Hammer
became the first woman to achieve two-star rank in the ADF.
[16]
[17]
Hammer has since been joined by
Margaret Staib
(2010),
[18]
Tracy Smart
(2015),
Cath Roberts
(2016),
Barbara Courtney
(2021),
Wendy Blyth
(2022), and
Dianne Turton
(2024).
Air vice-marshals of the Royal Australian Air Force are as follows:
[19]
[20]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Gillison 1962
, p. 16
- ^
MacDougall 2007
, p. 158
- ^
a
b
Newton 1996
, p. 15
- ^
a
b
c
"Air Marshal Richard Williams, KBE, CB, DSO"
.
People profiles
. Australian War Memorial
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
a
b
"Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams"
.
History
. Royal Australian Air Force
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Clark, Chris (19 May 2005).
"Air Force Defence chiefs of the past"
. Air Force News. Archived from
the original
on 8 June 2011
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
"Air Marshals of the RAAF"
. Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Development Centre
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
"Hononary Air Vice-Marshals"
.
Air Marshals of the RAAF
. Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Development Centre
. Retrieved
8 May
2013
.
- ^
Rayner 1992
, pp. 298?299
- ^
"Air Chief Marshals"
.
Air Marshals of the RAAF
. Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Development Centre. Archived from
the original
on 25 May 2013
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
Gillison 1962
, p. 93
- ^
"Head of GWEO Enterprise Appointed"
.
Australian Defence Magazine
. 8 May 2023
. Retrieved
17 June
2023
.
- ^
"Air Marshals"
.
Air Marshals of the RAAF
. Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Development Centre. Archived from
the original
on 1 June 2011
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
McCarthy, John (1983).
"Goble, Stanley James (1891?1948)"
.
Australian Dictionary of Biography
. Canberra: National Centre of Biography,
Australian National University
.
ISBN
978-0-522-84459-7
.
ISSN
1833-7538
.
OCLC
70677943
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
Staunton 2005
, pp. 47?49
- ^
"Chief of the Defence Force Announces Two Air Force Promotions"
.
Defence Media Release (4 July 2003)
. Department of Defence
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
"Women in Air Force"
.
History
. Royal Australia Air Force
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
"Commander Joint Logistics"
.
Defence Leaders
. Department of Defence
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
"Air Vice-Marshals A?K"
.
Air Marshals of the RAAF
. Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Development Centre. Archived from
the original
on 6 July 2012
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
- ^
"Air Vice-Marshals L?Z"
.
Air Marshals of the RAAF
. Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Development Centre. Archived from
the original
on 1 June 2011
. Retrieved
14 July
2010
.
References
[
edit
]
- Gillison, Douglas (1962).
Volume I ? Royal Australian Air Force 1939?1942
.
Australia in the War of 1939?1945
. Series 3 ? Air. Canberra, Australia:
Australian War Memorial
. Archived from
the original
on 7 June 2011.
- MacDougall, A.K. (2007).
Australians at War: A Pictorial History
. Rowville, Victoria, Australia: Five Mile Press.
ISBN
978-1-74178-957-7
.
- Newton, Dennis (1996).
Australian Air Aces: Australian Fighter Pilots in Combat
. Fyshwyck, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications.
ISBN
1-875671-25-0
.
- Staunton, Anthony (2005).
Victoria Cross: Australia's Finest and the Battles They Fought
. Prahan, Victoria, Australia: Hardie Grant Books.
ISBN
1-74066-288-1
.
- Rayner, Harry (1992). "Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger". In
Horner, David
(ed.).
The Commanders: Australian Military Leadership in the Twentieth Century
. Sydney, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
ISBN
1-86373-190-3
.