Chief of the Air Staff (India)

Chief of the Air Staff
File:Indian CAS flag.jpg Flag of the Chief of the Air Staff
Incumbent Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa since 31 December 2016
Indian Air Force
Abbreviation	CAS
Member of	Strategic Policy Group
Seat	Central Secretariat
Appointer	Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) The Chief of the Air Staff is usually the senior-most Indian Air Force officer of the senior most batch. The appointee for the office is approved by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister, based on appointee's ability and strong confidence with Prime Minister.
Term length	3 years or at the age of 62, whichever is earlier.
Precursor	Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force
Formation	1 April 1955 (1955-04-01)
First holder	Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee
Deputy	Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Anil Khosla
Salary	250000 (US$4,000) monthly

Chief of the Air Staff is the professional head and the commander of the Indian Air Force. The position is abbreviated as CAS in the Indian Air Force cables and communication, and is usually held by a four-star air officer of the rank Air Chief Marshal. The current CAS is Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa who took office on 31 December 2016, following the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.

The position was held by an Air Commodore (1919–1923), by an Air Vice-Marshal (1923–1929) and by an Air Marshal (1929–1965). In 1966, the position was upgraded to that of an Air Chief Marshal. The highest rank in the India's IAF is Marshal of the Air Force, which is conferred by the President of India only in exceptional circumstances. It has only been given once in January 2002 to Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh. This is a five-star rank and is equivalent to a Field Marshal in the Army and Admiral of the Fleet in the Navy.

List

Commander, Indian Group (1919 to 1920)

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Webb-Bowen, TomAir Commodore Tom Webb-Bowen CB, CMG (1879–1956)	20 September 1919	27 January 1920	129 days

Air Officer Commanding RAF, India (1920–1938)

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Webb-Bowen, TomAir Commodore Tom Webb-Bowen CB CMG (1879–1956)	27 January 1920	31 December 1922	2 years, 338 days
2		Game, PhilipAir Vice-Marshal Philip Game CB DSO (1876–1961)	31 December 1922	5 November 1923	309 days
3		Ellington, EdwardMarshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Leonard Ellington KCB CMG CBE (1877–1967)	5 November 1923	27 December 1926	3 years, 52 days
4		Ellington, EdwardAir Chief Marshal Sir Geoffrey Salmond KCB KCMG DSO (1878–1933)	27 December 1926	6 February 1931	4 years, 41 days
5		Steel, JohnAir Chief Marshal Sir John Miles Steel KCB KBE CMG (1877–1965)	6 February 1931	2 March 1935	4 years, 24 days
6		Ludlow-Hewitt, EdgarAir Chief Marshal Sir Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt KCB CMG DSO MC (1886–1973)	2 March 1935	29 September 1937	2 years, 211 days
7		de la Ferté, PhilipAir Chief Marshal Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté KCB CMG DSO (1886–1973)	29 September 1937	27 December 1938	1 year, 89 days

Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Forces in India (1938–1947)

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		de la Ferté, PhilipAir Chief Marshal Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté KCB CMG DSO (1886–1973)	27 December 1938	6 October 1939	283 days
2		Higgins, JohnAir Marshal Sir John Higgins KCB KBE DSO AFC (1875–1948)	6 October 1939	26 September 1940	356 days	—
3		Playfair, PatrickAir Marshal Sir Patrick Playfair KCB CB CVO MC (1889–1974)	26 September 1940	6 March 1942	1 year, 161 days	—
4		Peirse, RichardAir Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse KCB DSO AFC (1892–1970)	6 March 1942	27 April 1943	1 year, 52 days	—
5		Garrod, GuyAir Chief Marshal Sir Guy Garrod KCB OBE MC DFC (1891–1965)	27 April 1943	8 March 1944	316 days	—
6		Thomas, MeredithAir Vice-Marshal Meredith Thomas CSI CBE DFC AFC (1892–1984)	8 March 1944	1 April 1946	2 years, 24 days	—
7		Carr, RoderickAir Marshal Sir Roderick Carr KBE CB DFC AFC (1891–1971)	1 April 1946	22 November 1946	235 days	—
8		Walmsley, HughAir Marshal Sir Hugh Walmsley KCIE CBE MC DFC (1898–1985)	22 November 1946	15 August 1947	252 days	—

(On 15 August 1947, the unified RIAF was separated into the Royal Indian Air Force and the Royal Pakistan Air Force)

The following tables chronicle the appointees to the office of the Chief of the Air Staff or its preceding positions since the independence of India.

(**Seconded from the Royal Air Force)

Air Officer Commanding, Royal Indian Air Force (1947–1948)

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Elmhirst, ThomasAir Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst KBE CB AFC (1895–1982)	15 August 1947	21 June 1948	311 days

Commander-in-Chief, Royal Indian Air Force (1948–1950)

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Elmhirst, ThomasAir Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst KBE CB AFC (1895–1982)	21 June 1948	25 January 1950	1 year, 218 days

Commander-in-Chief, Indian Air Force (1950–1955)

№		Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Elmhirst, ThomasAir Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst KBE CB AFC (1895–1982)	26 January 1950	23 February 1950	28 days
2		Ivelaw-Chapman, RonaldAir Chief Marshal Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman KBE GCB CB DFC AFC (1899–1978)	23 February 1950	9 December 1951	1 year, 289 days
3		Gibbs, GeraldAir Marshal Gerald Gibbs CIE CBE MC** (1896–1992)	10 December 1951	31 March 1954	2 years, 111 days
4		Mukerjee, SubrotoAir Marshal Subroto Mukerjee OBE (1911–1960)	1 April 1954	31 March 1955	1 year, 0 days

Chief of the Air Staff (1955–present)

No.	Name	Rank	Photo	Appointment Date	Left Office	Decorations
4	Subroto Mukerjee	Air Marshal		1 April 1955	8 November 1960	OBE
5	Aspy Engineer	Air Marshal		1 December 1960	31 July 1964	DFC
6	Arjan Singh	Air Chief Marshal (later Marshal of the Indian Air Force)		1 August 1964	15 July 1969	Padma Vibhushan, DFC
7	Pratap Chandra Lal	Air Chief Marshal		16 July 1969	15 January 1973	Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, DFC
8	Om Prakash Mehra	Air Chief Marshal		16 January 1973	31 January 1976	PVSM, PV
9	Hrushikesh Moolgavkar	Air Chief Marshal		1 February 1976	31 August 1978	PVSM, MVC, LOM
10	Idris Latif	Air Chief Marshal		1 September 1978	31 August 1981	PVSM
11	Dilbagh Singh	Air Chief Marshal		1 September 1981	3 September 1984	PVSM, AVSM, VM
12	Lakshman Mohan Katre	Air Chief Marshal		3 September 1984	1 July 1985	PVSM, AVSM
13	Denis Anthony La Fontaine	Air Chief Marshal		3 July 1985	31 July 1988	PVSM, AVSM, VSM
14	Surinder Mehra	Air Chief Marshal		1 August 1988	31 July 1991	PVSM
15	Nirmal Chandra Suri	Air Chief Marshal		31 July 1991	31 July 1993	PVSM, AVSM, VSM
16	Swaroop Kaul	Air Chief Marshal		1 August 1993	31 December 1995	PVSM, MVC
17	Satish Kumar Sareen	Air Chief Marshal		31 December 1995	31 December 1998	PVSM, AVSM, VM
18	Anil Yashwant Tipnis	Air Chief Marshal		31 December 1998	31 December 2001	PVSM, AVSM, VM
19	Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy	Air Chief Marshal		31 December 2001	31 December 2004	PVSM, AVSM, VM & Bar
20	Shashindra Pal Tyagi	Air Chief Marshal		31 December 2004	31 March 2007	PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC
21	Fali Homi Major	Air Chief Marshal		31 March 2007	31 May 2009	PVSM, AVSM, SC, VM, ADC
22	Pradeep Vasant Naik	Air Chief Marshal		31 May 2009	31 July 2011	PVSM, VSM, ADC
23	Norman Anil Kumar Browne	Air Chief Marshal		31 July 2011	31 December 2013	PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC
24	Arup Raha	Air Chief Marshal		31 December 2013	31 December 2016	PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC
25	Birender Singh Dhanoa	Air Chief Marshal		31 December 2016	Incumbent	PVSM AVSM, YSM, VM, ADC

Marshal of the Air Force

Only once has this rank ever been given:

• Arjan Singh – Marshal of the Air Force in January 2002 (the highest rank ever given in the history of the Indian Air force). It is equal to a five star General or a Field Marshal in the Army and Admiral of the Fleet in the Navy.

See also

• Chief of the Army Staff (India)
• Chief of the Naval Staff (India)

References

• Chiefs of the Indian Air Force

External links

• "Chief of The Air Staff". Indian Air Force. http://indianairforce.nic.in/show_page.php?pg_id=18. 

{{Wikipedia|