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Air vice-marshal

Two-star air-officer rank

Summary

Two-star air-officer rank

Field	Value
name	Air vice-marshal
image	UK-Air-OF7-Flag.svg
image_size	150px
caption	Command flag
image2	United Kingdom-Air force-OF-7-collected.svg
image_size2	100px
caption2	Shoulder and sleeve insignia
image3	Air Vice-Marshal star plate.svg
image_size3	100px
caption3	An RAF air vice-marshal star plate
country	United Kingdom
service branch
abbreviation	AVM / Air Vce Mshl
rank	Two-star
NATO rank	OF-7
Non-NATO rank	[Two-star rank	O-8
formation
higher rank	[Air marshal
lower rank	Air commodore
equivalents

Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an 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.

Air vice-marshal is usually equivalent to the naval rank of rear admiral or a rank of major general in an army. The rank of air vice-marshal is immediately senior to the rank of air commodore and immediately subordinate to the rank of air marshal. Since before the Second World War it has been common for air officers commanding RAF groups to hold the rank of air vice-marshal. In small air forces such as the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Ghana Air Force, the head of the air force holds the rank of air vice-marshal.

The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force, Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (until 1980) was "air chief commandant".

Australia

The Australian Air Corps adopted the RAF rank system on 9 November 1920 and this usage was continued by its successor, the Royal Australian Air Force. However, the rank of air vice-marshal was not used by the Australian Armed Forces until 1935 when Richard Williams, the Australian Chief of the Air Staff, was promoted. Margaret Staib of the Royal Australian Air Force served in the rank of air vice-marshal from 2009 to 2012 when she retired from the Australian Defence Force.

Canada

In 1920, Sir Willoughby Gwatkin, the former Canadian Chief of the General Staff, was granted the rank of air vice-marshal and appointed the inspector-general of the newly established Canadian Air Force. The rank was used until the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, when army-type rank titles were adopted. Canadian air vice-marshals then became major-generals. In official Canadian French usage, the rank title was vice-maréchal de l'air.

India

Main article: Air vice marshal (India)

United Kingdom

| Non-NATO rank = [[Two-star rank|O-8 ]]

Origins

On 1 April 1918, the newly created RAF adopted its officer rank titles from the British Army, with officers at what is now air vice-marshal level holding the rank of major general. In response to the proposal that the RAF should use its own rank titles, it was suggested that the RAF might use the Royal Navy's officer ranks, with the word "air" inserted before the naval rank title. For example, the rank that later became air vice-marshal would have been air rear admiral. The Admiralty objected to any use of their rank titles, including this modified form, and so an alternative proposal was put forward: air officer ranks would be based on the term "ardian", which was derived from a combination of the Gaelic words for "chief" (ard) and "bird" (eun), with the term "third ardian" or "squadron ardian" being used for the equivalent to rear admiral and major general. However, air vice-marshal was preferred and was adopted in August 1919. The following officers were the first to be appointed to the rank, and their former service ranks are also shown:

Officer	Rank in RAF	Rank in Army	Rank in Navy
Edward Ashmore	Major general	Major general	None
Sir Sefton Brancker	Major general	Major general	None
Edward Ellington	Major general	Brigadier	None
John Higgins	Major general	Brigadier	None
Sir Godfrey Paine	Major general	None	Rear admiral
Sir Geoffrey Salmond	Major general	Major general	None
Sir John Salmond	Major general	Major general	None
Sir Frederick Sykes	Major general	Major general	Wing captain
Sir Hugh Trenchard	Major general	Major general	None

RAF insignia, command flag and star plate

The rank insignia consists of a narrow light blue band (on a slightly wider black band) over a light blue band on a broad black band. This is worn on both the lower sleeves of the dress uniform or on the shoulders of the flying suit or working uniform.

The command flag of an air vice-marshal has two narrow red bands running through the centre.

The vehicle star plate for an air vice-marshal depicts two white stars (air vice-marshal is a two-star rank) on an air force blue background.

File:File-UK-Air-OF7-mess-insignia.svg|An RAF air vice-marshal's sleeve mess insignia File:British RAF Air Officer (ceremonial shoulder board).svg|An RAF air vice-marshal's shoulder board File:RAF-AVM-OF-7.png|An RAF air vice-marshal's sleeve on No. 1 service dress uniform Air Vice-Marshal star plate.svg|An RAF air vice-marshal's star plate

, air vice-marshal was the highest uniformed military rank currently held by a woman in the British Armed Forces when Air Vice-Marshal Elaine West was awarded the position in August 2013.

Gallery

File:United Kingdom-AirForce-OF-7 Sleeve.svg|(Royal Australian Air Force) File:British RAF OF-7.svg|(Bangladesh Air Force) File:14.Ghana Air Force-MG.svg|(Ghana Air Force) File:United Kingdom-AirForce-OF-7 Sleeve.svg|(Indian Air Force) File:14-Namibia Air Force-AVM.svg|(Namibian Air Force) File:Nigeria-AirForce-OF-7.svg|(Nigerian Air Force) File:Pak-air-force-OF-7.svg|(Pakistan Air Force) File:United Kingdom-AirForce-OF-7 Sleeve.svg|(Sri Lanka Air Force)

File:United Kingdom-AirForce-OF-7 Sleeve.svg|(Royal Air Force) File:TaT-Air Guard-OF-7.png|(Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard) File:Canadian_RCAF_Mess_Dress_Of-07.png|(Air Force of Zimbabwe)

References

...

References

(2007). "Ranks and Badges of the Royal Air Force". [[Royal Air Force]].
"Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) in Australia during WW2". Oz at War.
"GWATKIN, Sir WILLOUGHBY GARNONS – Volume XV (1921–1930)". Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
"The RCAF".
Hobart, Malcolm C. (2000). "Badges and Uniforms of the Royal Air Force". Leo Cooper.
Barrass, Malcolm. (3 November 2007). "Major-General E B Ashmore". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
Barrass, Malcolm. (16 June 2007). "Air Vice-Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
Barrass, Malcolm. (16 June 2007). "Marshal of the RAF Sir Edward Ellington". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
Barrass, Malcolm. (16 June 2007). "Air Marshal Sir John Higgins". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
Barrass, Malcolm. (29 July 2009). "Rear Admiral (Air Vice-Marshal) Sir Godfrey Paine". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
Barrass, Malcolm. (7 October 2007). "Air Chief Marshal Sir Geoffrey Salmond". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
Barrass, Malcolm. (30 November 2008). "Marshal of the RAF Sir John Salmond". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
Barrass, Malcolm. (17 June 2007). "Air Vice-Marshal The Rt. Hon. Sir Frederick Sykes". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
Barrass, Malcolm. (9 October 2007). "Marshal of the RAF The Viscount Trenchard of Wolfeton". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation.
(23 August 2013). "Woman RAF officer joins top military brass". BBC News.
"Badges of rank". [[Department of Defence (Australia)]].
"OFFICER'S RANKS".
(2018). "Rank Structure". Ghana Air Force.
"For Officers". Indian Air Force.
(20 August 2010). "Government Notice".
(1992). "Nigeria: a country study". Library of Congress.
"Commissioned Officers". Sri Lanka Air Force.
"RAF Ranks". [[Royal Air Force]].
(October 2025). "Rank Chart (Commissioned Officers)". Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force.
"Ranks and Badges in the AFZ". [[Air Force of Zimbabwe]].

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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