An RAF Air Vice-Marshal's sleeve/shoulder insignia

Air Vice-Marshal (AVM) is an air officer rank in the Royal Air Force^[1] as well as in air forces of many Commonwealth nations. An Air Officer is a British Royal Air Force officer of rank Air Commodore or higher Air Vice-Marshals may be addressed generically as "Air Marshal".

The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) (until 1980) was Air Chief Commandant. Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service ( PMRAFNS) is the Nursing branch of the British Royal Air Force.

Seniority

Air Vice-Marshal is equivalent to a 2 star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7. An officer of 2 star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The North Atlantic Treaty It is equivalent to a Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy or a Major-General in the British Army or the Royal Marines. Rear admiral is a Naval Commissioned officer rank above that of a Commodore and Captain, and below that of a Vice Admiral. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. The Royal Marines ( RM) are the marine corps and amphibious Infantry of the United Kingdom and along with the Royal Navy

The rank of Air Vice-Marshal is immediately senior to the rank Air Commodore and immediately subordinate to the rank of Air Marshal. Air Commodore ( Air Cdre in the RAF, AIRCDRE in the RNZAF and RAAF, A/C in the former RCAF) is a rank in This article is about the air force rank Air marshal (or Sky marshal) is also the term given to federal security agents who travel undercover aboard commercial

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. Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in Armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines An Admiral of the Fleet or Fleet Admiral is a military Naval officer of the highest rank For other meanings see Field Marshal (disambiguation Field marshal is a military officer rank Marshal of the Air Force may be used as a generic term for a rank in some Air forces which use a similar title with their air force's name inserted as their most senior rank Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks of the highest Naval officers Air Chief Marshal ( Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a senior Air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force (RAF Vice Admiral is a naval rank equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority Lieutenant General is a Military rank used in many countries The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the This article is about the air force rank Air marshal (or Sky marshal) is also the term given to federal security agents who travel undercover aboard commercial Rear admiral is a Naval Commissioned officer rank above that of a Commodore and Captain, and below that of a Vice Admiral. Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries Commodore is a Military rank used in many navies for officers whose position exceeds that of a navy captain, but is less than This article refers to the military rank For the Doctor Who character known as the Brigadier see Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Air Commodore ( Air Cdre in the RAF, AIRCDRE in the RNZAF and RAAF, A/C in the former RCAF) is a rank in For information specifically on the Royal Navy rank of captain see Captain (Royal Navy. Colonel ( RP ˈkɜnəl GA ˈkɜrnəl is a Military rank of a Commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every country Group Captain ( Gp Capt in the RAF and Indian Air Force, GPCAPT in the RNZAF and RAAF, G/C in the former Commander is a Military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service Lieutenant Colonel ( Lieutenant-Colonel in English from the French grade 's spelling is a rank of Commissioned officer in the armies Wing Commander ( Wg Cdr in the RAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, W/C in the former RCAF) is a commissioned Lieutenant Commander ( Lieutenant-Commander in the Royal Navy) is a Commissioned officer rank in many navies Superior Major is a Military rank the use of which varies according to country Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence Lieutenant (abbreviated Lt or Lieut) is a Military, Naval, Paramilitary, Fire service, Emergency medical services Flight Lieutenant ( Flt Lt in the RAF; FLTLT in the RAAF and RNZAF, F/L in the former RCAF) is a junior Sub-Lieutenant is a military rank It is normally a junior officer rank Lieutenant (abbreviated Lt or Lieut) is a Military, Naval, Paramilitary, Fire service, Emergency medical services Flying Officer ( Fg Off in the RAF FLGOFF in the RAAF FGOFF in the RNZAF F/O in the former RCAF and frequently in the RAF is a junior commissioned A Warrant Officer ( WO) is a member of a military organization holding one of a specific group of ranks. A Sergeant Major is a rank or appointment in many militaries around the world A Warrant Officer ( WO) is a member of a military organization holding one of a specific group of ranks. A Petty Officer is a noncommissioned officer or equivalent in many navies. Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries police forces and other uniformed organizations around the world Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries police forces and other uniformed organizations around the world Leading Rating (or Leading Rate) is the most senior of the junior rates in the British Royal Navy. Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and also by some police forces or other uniformed organizations Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and also by some police forces or other uniformed organizations Seaman as a rate refers to one of the lowest rates in a Navy. A Private is a Soldier of the lowest Military rank (equivalent to NATO Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in Aircraftman ( AC) or Aircraftwoman ( ACW) is the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force and the Air forces of several other Commonwealth Events 527 - Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. 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. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) 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 "Squadron Ardian" being used for the equivalent to Rear-Admiral and Major-General. The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. An Air Officer is a British Royal Air Force officer of rank Air Commodore or higher The Goidelic languages, (also sometimes called particularly in colloquial situations the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) historically formed a Dialect However, Air Vice-Marshal was preferred and was adopted on 1 August 1919. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

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. Insignia (the plural of Latin insigne: emblem symbol is a Symbol or Token of personal power, Status or Office This is worn on the both the lower sleeves of the tunic or on the shoulders of the flying suit or the casual uniform. flight suit is a full body garment worn while flying a powered Aircraft such as Military airplanes and helicopters

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 equivalent to a two star rank) on an air force blue background.

An RAF Air Vice-Marshal's command flag

An RAF Air Vice-Marshal's star plate

A Royal Thai Air Force Air Vice-Marshal's rank insignia

An RAAF Air Vice-Marshal's rank insignia

Other air forces

The rank of Air Vice-Marshal is also used by a number of the air forces in the Commonwealth, including the Bangladesh Air Force, Ghana Air Force, Indian Air Force (IAF), Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). The Bangladesh Air Force (বাংলােদশ িবমান বািহনী Bangladesh Biman Bahini in Bangla) is the tactical and strategic air branch The Ghana Air Force ( GAF) is the Air force of the African nation of Ghana. The Indian Air Force (Devanāgarī भारतीय वायु सेना IAST Bhartiya Vāyu Senā is the air arm of the Armed Forces of India and has the Pakistan Air Force ( Urdu: پاک فضائیہ, Pak Faza'ya) ( PAF) is the Aviation branch of the Pakistan armed forces The Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF) is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The Royal New Zealand Air Force ( RNZAF) is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. It is also used in the Egyptian Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Royal Air Force of Oman and the Royal Thai Air Force. The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF (القوات الجوية المصرية) is the aviation branch of the Egyptian armed forces. The Hellenic Air Force ( HAF) (in Πολεμική Αεροπορία ( ΠΑ) Polemikí Aeroporía, literally "Military Aviation" The Royal Air Force of Oman ( RAFO) is the air arm of the Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces History The Sultan of Oman's Air Force The Royal Thai Air Force or RTAF ( Thai: กองทัพอากาศไทย Kong Thab Akat Thai is the Air force of the Kingdom of Thailand In the Indonesian Air Force the equivalent rank is Marsekal Muda (literally "Rear Marshal") which is usually translated as Air Vice-Marshal in English. See also List of aircraft of the Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force ( Indonesian: Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara or

The Royal Canadian Air Force used the rank until the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, when Army-type rank titles were adopted. The Canadian Forces (CF ( French: Forces canadiennes) are the unified Armed forces of Canada, governed by the National Defence Canadian Air Vice-Marshals then became Major-Generals. Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries

See also

• RAF officer ranks
• Ranks of the RAAF
• Air force officer rank insignia
• Comparative military ranks

References