Chief of the Air Staff

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Chief of the Air Staff can also refer to the head of the Canadian Forces Air Command or the head of the Indian Air Force.

The Chief of the Air Staff is the professional head of the Royal Air Force and a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Air Force Board. The post was established with the formation of the RAF in 1918, and its first occupant, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Hugh Trenchard, was key in the establishment of the RAF as a separate service.

After Lord Trenchard retired in 1929 his successors still had to fight to keep the RAF separate from the Royal Navy and the British Army, but Trenchard's foundations proved too solid.

By the time World War II broke out in 1939, the then occupant of the post, Air Chief Marshal Sir Cyril Newall, had a service that had been undergoing the most rapid of expansions during the British rearmament programs of the late 1930s. Newall gave way in 1940 to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, who lead the service for the rest of the war. Portal was a tireless defender of the RAF and extremely able in administration and strategy.

Postwar the RAF was reoriented to perform the dual roles of defending the shrinking British Empire and possibly fighting against the Soviet Union in a Warsaw Pact vs NATO war over Germany and the United Kingdom. The Chiefs of the Air Staff of the day had to fight a constant battle to keep the British aircraft industry alive. In the end only minimal success was achieved, with only a rump aviation industrial base left by the 1970s.

The present air threat to the United Kingdom itself is minimal compared with any time since the early 1930s. The RAF has therefore had to be reoriented to be an expeditionary force. The struggles against cuts continue, with many feeling that the RAF and the Chief of the Air Staff go too far in their zealous defence of air power and control over air assets. Nevertheless, the Chief of the Air Staff is a secure post for the foreseeable future.

The Chief of the Air Staff is normally appointed an Air Aide de Camp to the British sovereign.

Chiefs of the Air Staff Since 1918

3 Jan 1918 - Major General Sir Hugh Trenchard
13 Apr 1918 - Major General Sir Frederick Sykes
22 Jan 1919 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Hugh Trenchard
1 Jan 1930 - Air Chief Marshal Sir John Salmond
1 Apr 1933 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Geoffrey Salmond
28 Apr 1933 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Salmond
22 May 1933 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Ellington
1 Sep 1937 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force the Lord Newall
25 Oct 1940 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force the Lord Portal
1 Jan 1946 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Tedder
1 Jan 1950 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Slessor
1 Jan 1953 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Dickson
1 Jan 1956 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Dermot Boyle
1 Jan 1960 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Pike
1 Sep 1963 - Air Chief Marshal the Lord Elworthy
1 Apr 1967 - Air Chief Marshal Sir John Grandy
1 Apr 1971 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Denis Spotswood
1 Apr 1974 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Humphrey
7 Aug 1976 - Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Neil Cameron
10 Aug 1977 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Beetham
15 Oct 1982 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Williamson
15 Oct 1985 - Air Chief Marshal The Lord Craig of Radley
14 Nov 1988 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Harding
6 Nov 1992 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Graydon
10 Apr 1997 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns
21 Apr 2000 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire
1 Aug 2003 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup
13 April 2006 - Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy

Footnote

↑ The ranks shown are the highest rank that the officer in question attained during his tour as Chief of the Air Staff. However, in the case where the officer was promoted on the day before he was posted, then the lower rank is shown.

See also

Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom)
First Sea Lord / Chief of the Naval Staff
Chief of the General Staff
Chief of Air Force (Australia)

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