The following is a list of Royal Air Force air chief marshals. The rank of air chief marshal is a four-star officer rank and currently the highest rank to which RAF officers may be promoted to in a professional capacity. Throughout the history of the RAF there have been 141 RAF officers promoted to air chief marshal and at present only one RAF officer holds the rank in an active capacity. He is Sir Richard Knighton, the Chief of the Air Staff (the only dedicated RAF 4-star post).
The rank was first used in 1922 when Sir Hugh Trenchard the then Chief of the Air Staff was promoted. Up until the mid-1930s there was usually only one RAF officer in the rank of air chief marshal. During World War II, with the great expansion of the RAF, the number of air chief marshals active at any one time peaked at nine during the War. This number of air chief marshals was to remain approximately constant throughout the Cold War but after the British defence cuts of the mid-1990s there were only two dedicated 4-star RAF posts, namely the AOC-in-C, Strike Command and the Chief of the Air Staff. In 2007 with the reduction to a single command (Air Command) the RAF initially retained two air chief marshal posts (the AOC-in-C, Air Command and the Chief of the Air Staff) but in 2012 the post of AOC-in-C, Air Command was subsumed within the responsibilities of the Chief of the Air Staff leaving only a single dedicated RAF air chief marshal post.
| width = 130 | Name | width = 110 | Date rank first held | width = 110 | Time in rank | width = 110 | Date rank last held | width = 110 | Posts held in rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Member for Personnel | promoted 8 July 1976, retired 31 March 1978[1] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Logistics Command | promoted 1993, retired 25 June 1996 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Logistics Command AOC-in-C, Strike Command | promoted 8 March 1996, retired at own request 6 September 1999 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies | promoted 1 July 1986, retired 5 April 1990 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | promoted 11 April 2000, retired 31 October 2005 | |||||||||
| Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Vice-Chief of the Air Staff Controller of Aircraft | promoted 2 January 1952, retired 17 December 1956 | |||||||||
| C-in-C Far East Air Force Commander Allied Air Forces Central Europe | promoted 1 July 1959, retired 1 December 1963 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Near East Air Force Commander British Forces Cyprus Administrator of the Sovereign Base Areas[2] | promoted 1 July 1962, retired 27 November 1964 | |||||||||
| Air Secretary Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies | promoted 3 September 1973, retired 3 April 1976[3] | |||||||||
| Inspector-General of the RAF | promoted 1 January 1946, retired 27 March 1947[4] | |||||||||
| DC-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe | acting promotion 14 March 1984, substantive promotion 1 July 1984, retired 3 January 1987 | |||||||||
| C-in-C RAF Germany Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 21 May 1977, promoted marshal of the RAF 15 October 1982 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Coastal Command | promoted 1 October 1954, retired 3 May 1956 | |||||||||
| Inspector-General of the RAF | promoted 23 March 1947, retired 1 January 1948 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Coastal Command Commander of the RAF's Ferry Organisation AOC Ferry Command AOC-in-C Transport Command | temporary promotion 1 November 1939, acting promotion 1 July 1942, retained the rank on retirement 29 March 1945[5] | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 January 1956, promoted marshal of the RAF 1 January 1958[6] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Bomber Command Commander Allied Air Forces Central Europe | promoted 14 February 1957, retired 1 March 1961 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C, Air Defence of Great Britain Inspector-General of the RAF AOC-in-C RAF Middle East Head of the RAF Training Mission in Canada Head of the RAF Training Mission in South Africa C-in-C Far East Command | promoted 1 January 1935, retired 6 March 1937, restored to active service in 1939, final retirement May 1942 | |||||||||
| C-in-C Air Command | promoted 18 June 2010[7] retired 24 June 2012 | |||||||||
| Air Secretary C-in-C Far East Command | promoted 7 October 1967, retired 11 March 1972 | |||||||||
| Chief of the Australian Air Staff | acting promotion 1 January 1940, retired June 1942[8] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command | promoted 31 July 2003, retired 18 January 2006 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 November 1975, promoted marshal of the RAF 31 July 1977[9] | |||||||||
| C-in-C Allied Forces North West Europe | promoted 11 March 1997, retired 2000 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel | promoted 19 November 1962,[10] retired 6 April 1965 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Flying Training Command Vice Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 March 1949,[11] retired 29 November 1952 | |||||||||
| Commandant of the Imperial Defence College | promoted 12 September 1961, retired 30 May 1964 | |||||||||
| Chief Executive Guided Weapons at the Ministry of Supply | promoted 15 May 1950, retired 15 May 1951[12] | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation | temporary promotion 1 January 1942, permanent promotion 1 June 1943, retired 9 November 1945 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Personnel and Training Command | promoted 1 August 1997, retired 11 November 1998 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command Chief of the Air Staff | acting promotion 20 September 1982, substantive promotion 1 July 1983, promoted marshal of the RAF 14 November 1988 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Transport Command | promoted 1 October 1965, retired 24 February 1967 | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 31 July 2009,[13] retired 15 January 2014 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Flying Training Command AOC-in-C Training Command | promoted 1 January 1967, retired 21 June 1969 | |||||||||
| Inspector-General of the RAF Air Member for Supply and Organisation | promoted 1 June 1956, retired 6 May 1960[14] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command | promoted 10 April 2001, retired 1 September 2003 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 18 January 1951, promoted marshal of the RAF 1 June 1954[15] | |||||||||
| C-in-C British Forces of Occupation, Germany | promoted 6 June 1945, promoted marshal of the RAF 1 January 1946[16] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C, Fighter Command Head of British Air Commission, Washington | promoted 1 January 1937, last day of paid service 14 July 1942,[17] retired 15 July 1942 | |||||||||
| Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | promoted 1 April 1964, retired 6 June 1966[18] | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 January 1933, promoted marshal of the RAF 1 January 1937[19] | |||||||||
| Chairman of the British Joint Services Mission in Washington | promoted 1 April 1951, retired 18 April 1954[20] | |||||||||
| C-in-C Middle East Command Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 September 1962, promoted marshal of the RAF 1 April 1967[21] | |||||||||
| C-in-C Allied Air Forces Central Europe | acting promotion 16 July 1953, substantive promotion 1 December 1953, retired 26 February 1956 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C, Strike Command Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | acting promotion 26 March 1977, substantive promotion 31 March 1978, retired 9 August 1983 | |||||||||
| Air Secretary Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies | promoted 1 March 1967, retired 28 February 1970 | |||||||||
| Vice-Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 January 1946, retired 15 January 1947[22] | |||||||||
| Controller of Aircraft | promoted 1 May 1971, retired 30 July 1973 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel | promoted 1 November 1953, retired 29 January 1957 | |||||||||
| C-in-C Second Tactical Air Force | promoted 28 January 1953,[23] retired 1 February 1954 | |||||||||
| C-in-C Second Tactical Air Force Chief of Personnel and Logistics | promoted 1 December 1970, retired 22 April 1974 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Development and Production Vice-Chief of the Air Staff | temporary promotion 27 May 1940, substantive promotion 14 April 1942 (with seniority backdated to 27 May 1940), retired 19 October 1942[24] | |||||||||
| Commandant Royal College of Defence Studies | promoted 1 January 1980, retired 3 April 1982 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command | promoted 13 January 2006, retired 2007 | |||||||||
| Permanent RAF Representative on the UN Military Staff Committee Head of the RAF Delegation, Washington | promoted 1 January 1946, retired 9 October 1948[25] | |||||||||
| Deputy C-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe | promoted 1 January 1987, retired 9 August 1989 | |||||||||
| Deputy C-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe | acting promotion 7 April 1981, substantive promotion 1 January 1982 retired 22 June 1984 | |||||||||
| C-in-C Far East Command Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 April 1965, promoted marshal of the RAF 1 April 1971[26] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C, RAF Support Command AOC-in-C, Strike Command Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 31 May 1990, retired 9 August 1997[27] [28] | |||||||||
| Controller Aircraft | promoted 1 January 1987, retired 20 May 1989 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command Chief of the Air Staff Chief of the Defence Staff | promoted 1 January 1985, promoted marshal of the RAF 6 November 1992 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation | promoted 1 April 1955, retired 29 January 1958 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Bomber Command | acting promotion 18 March 1943, temporary promotion 16 August 1944, promoted marshal of the RAF 1 January 1946[29] | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation | promoted 29 April 1974, retired 30 June 1976 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Technical Services | promoted 16 January 1947, retired 1 July 1948[30] | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 11 July 2016 retired 22 April 2020 | |||||||||
| Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Air Member for Supply and Organisation AOC-in-C Strike Command | promoted 1 July 1985, retired 1 September 1991 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel Deputy C-in-C HQ Allied Forces Central Europe | promoted 1 May 1971, retired 2 May 1976 | |||||||||
| Air Secretary | promoted 22 April 1974, retired 8 May 1976 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel | promoted 15 May 1950, retired 27 December 1952 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Transport Command Commander Allied Air Forces Central Europe Deputy C-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe | promoted 1 March 1961, retired 5 June 1967 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 December 1970, promoted marshal of the RAF 6 August 1976[31] | |||||||||
| Vice-Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 November 1953, retired 29 October 1957 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation | promoted 1 January 1990, retired 5 November 1993[32] | |||||||||
| C-in-C Allied Forces North West Europe Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 30 June 1994, retired April 2000[33] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Coastal Command Inspector-General of the RAF Deputy Chief of Staff (Information and Civil Affairs), SEAC | temporary promotion 1 July 1941, substantive promotion 14 April 1942 (with seniority backdated to 1 July 1941), rank relinquished 23 November 1943, rank retained on retirement 14 November 1945[34] | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel | promoted 1 July 1983, retired 10 May 1986 | |||||||||
| UK Military Representative to NATO | promoted 1 July 1986, retired 18 November 1989 | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 2 June 2023 | |||||||||
| Vice-Chief of the Air Staff AOC-in-C Bomber Command AOC-in-C Strike Command | promoted 1 January 1964, retired 9 November 1968 | |||||||||
| DC-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe | promoted 2 February 1976, retired 27 August 1979 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel UK Military Representative, NATO Military Committee | promoted 7 October 1967, retired 19 March 1971 | |||||||||
| C-in-C Allied Expeditionary Air Force | acting promotion 15 December 1943, substantive temporary promotion 16 August 1944, died on active service 14 November 1944 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Bomber Command | promoted 15 May 1951 (seniority dated from 1 April 1951), retired 4 June 1953 | |||||||||
| C-in-C Air Command | promoted 30 March 2007, retired 1 August 2009 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Training Command Member of British Air Mission to Australia and New Zealand AOC-in-C Middle East Command Inspector-General of the RAF | temporary promotion 1 November 1939, rank retained on retirement 1 March 1942, recalled to active service in the rank of air vice-marshal on 1 August 1943, resumed the rank of air chief marshal on final retirement 1 June 1944[35] | |||||||||
| Controller of Aircraft Chief of Defence Procurement | promoted 3 November 1975, retired 22 August 1983 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Bomber Command Inspector-General of the RAF | promoted 1 July 1937, retired 19 November 1945[36] | |||||||||
| Air Secretary | promoted 1 September 1963, retired 11 August 1966 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command | promoted 8 May 1976, retired at own request 21 May 1977 | |||||||||
| Chief of Staff, HQ Allied Air Forces Central Europe Air Secretary | promoted 1 November 1958, retired 19 November 1962 | |||||||||
| Head of British Joint Services Mission, Washington DC | promoted 1 May 1948, retired 19 April 1950 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation | promoted 1 June 1961, retired 29 August 1963[37] | |||||||||
| Commander of Allied Air Forces Central Europe Chairman of the NATO Standing Group | acting promotion 1 January 1956, substantive promotion 1 June 1956, retired 18 September 1962 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C RAF Middle East Inspector-General of the RAF | acting promotion 9 September 1939, rank relinquished 13 May 1940, retained the rank on retirement 1 October 1941[38] | |||||||||
| C-in-C Air Command | promoted 3 April 2009, died suddenly while serving 26 May 2010[39] | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 April 1937, promoted marshal of the RAF 4 October 1940[40] | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel | promoted 22 April 1991, retired 1 July 1993 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C RAF Middle East Command Allied C-in-C Air Command, South East Asia | acting promotion 1 August 1945, rank retained on retirement 20 December 1946[41] | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel | promoted 1 July 1989, retired 29 February 1992 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel Commander, British Forces Arabian Peninsula | promoted 1 April 1959, retired 29 May 1961 | |||||||||
| Commander of Joint Forces Command Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff Chief of the Defence Staff Chairman of the NATO Military Committee | promoted 1 December 2011,[42] retired 31 March 2022 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Air Forces in India C-in-C Air Command South-East Asia | temporary promotion 1 July 1942, retained the rank on retirement 6 May 1945[43] | |||||||||
| Controller of Aircraft | promoted 14 February 1957, retired 13 November 1959 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C, Fighter Command Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 November 1957, promoted marshal of the RAF 6 April 1962[44] | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation Head of RAF Staff, British Joint Services Mission (Washington) | promoted 1 March 1949, retired 15 October 1951[45] | |||||||||
| Chief of Defence Logistics | promoted 2 September 2002, retired 18 April 2005 | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 14 April 1942,[46] promoted marshal of the RAF 1 January 1944 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation | promoted 1 May 1969, retired at own request 1 October 1970 | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 22 July 2013, retired 28 October 2016 | |||||||||
| C-in-C Air Forces, Western Union Defence Organisation Inspector-General of the RAF | promoted 1 October 1948,[47] medically retired 26 November 1951 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation | promoted 1 December 1978, retired at own request 1 August 1981[48] | |||||||||
| Controller of Aircraft | promoted 1 January 1984, retired 31 March 1986 | |||||||||
| Deputy C-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe | promoted 1 March 1970, retired 3 September 1973 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C, Air Defence of Great Britain Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 January 1933, died of natural causes while serving 27 April 1933[49] | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 January 1929, promoted marshal of the RAF 1 January 1933[50] | |||||||||
| Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Commander-in-Chief RAF Middle East Air Force Commandant of the Imperial Defence College | promoted 16 October 1951, retired 29 January 1956 | |||||||||
| Air Deputy to Supreme Allied Commander Europe | promoted 15 May 1950, retired 22 September 1953 | |||||||||
| Deputy C-in-C, HQ Allied Air Forces Central Europe | promoted 1 May 1989, retired 31 December 1992 | |||||||||
| promoted 1 January 1946, promoted marshal of the RAF 8 June 1950[51] | ||||||||||
| Vice-Chief of the Air Staff AOC-in-C, Strike Command | promoted 30 July 1973, retired 30 June 1976 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C, Strike Command Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 November 1968, promoted marshal of the RAF 31 March 1974[52] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 29 March 1999, retired 5 December 2003 | |||||||||
| Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe | promoted 1 June 1979, died suddenly while serving 1 January 1981[53] | |||||||||
| Air Secretary | promoted 2 May 1976, retired at own request 11 February 1978 | |||||||||
| Deputy C-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe | promoted 27 August 1992, retired 11 October 1996 | |||||||||
| UK Military Representative, NATO Military Committee | promoted 26 October 1977, retired 24 January 1981[54] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C, Air Defence of Great Britain AOC-in-C, Bomber Command | promoted 1 July 1936, retired 12 September 1937, recalled to active service in the rank of air vice-marshal for periods 28 August 1939 to 27 May 1940 and 15 April 1941 to 26 September 1945, resumed the rank of air chief marshal on final retirement (with seniority backdated to 1 July 1936) 26 September 1945[55] | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff Chief of the Defence Staff | promoted 1 August 2003, retired 4 April 2011, promoted marshal of the RAF 13 June 2014 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C RAF Middle East Command Air C-in-C Mediterranean Air Command Air C-in-C Mediterranean Allied Air Forces Air C-in-C and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander SHAEF | temporary promotion 1 July 1942, substantive promotion 6 June 1945, promoted marshal of the RAF 12 September 1945[56] | |||||||||
| Deputy C-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe | promoted 1 March 1981, retired 18 October 1984 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command C-in-C Allied Forces North West Europe | promoted 4 November 1992, died of natural causes while serving 10 July 1994[57] | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 13 April 2006, retired 31 July 2009[58] | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 April 1922, promoted marshal of the RAF 1 January 1927[59] | |||||||||
| Chief of Personnel and Logistics | promoted 31 March 1976, retired at own request 31 March 1978 | |||||||||
| Deputy C-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe | promoted 1 March 1967, retired 7 July 1970 | |||||||||
| Controller Aircraft | promoted 11 March 1972, retired 3 January 1976 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Supply and Organisation | promoted 28 January 1953,[60] retired 29 May 1954 | |||||||||
| Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 26 July 2019[61] | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C Strike Command Chief of the Air Staff | promoted 1 March 1981, promoted marshal of the RAF 15 October 1985 | |||||||||
| Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff | promoted 4 April 1995, retired 10 January 1998 | |||||||||
| Air Member for Personnel AOC-in-C Personnel and Training Command | promoted 16 April 1993, retired prematurely 26 August 1995 | |||||||||
| AOC-in-C, Strike Command | promoted 1 September 1994, retired 5 November 1997 | |||||||||
The following chart indicates the number of serving air chief marshals by year, as counted on 1 January each year.