List of Air Chief Marshal of India (1947-2021)
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) or Air Chief Marshal (ACM) is the head and the commander of the Indian Air Force. The current Air Chief Marshal of India is Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. He took office on 30 September 2019 and will retire on 30 September 2021. He will be succeeded by Air Marshal VR Chaudhari.
The Indian Air Force, the fourth largest in the world, was officially established on 8 October 1932. The main aim of the IAF is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict.
Let us have a look at the list of Air Chief Marshal (ACM) of India from 1947 to 2021.
List of Air Chief Marshal of India (1947-2021)
| No. |
Name |
Rank |
Appointment Date |
Left Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst |
Air Marshal |
15 Aug 1947 |
21 Feb 1950 |
| 2 |
Ronald Ivelaw Chapman |
Air Marshal |
22 Feb 1950 |
09 Dec 1951 |
| 3 |
Sir Gerald Ernest Gibbs |
Air Marshal |
10 Dec 1951 |
31 Mar 1954 |
| 4 |
Subroto Mukerjee |
Air Marshal |
Apr 1, 1954 |
Nov 8, 1960 |
| 5 |
A. M. Engineer |
Air Marshal |
Dec 1, 1960 |
July 31, 1964 |
| 6 |
Arjan Singh |
The first Air Chief Marshal |
Aug 1, 1964 |
July 15, 1969 |
| 7 |
Pratap Chandra Lal |
Air Chief Marshal |
July 16, 1969 |
Jan 15, 1973 |
| 8 |
Om Prakash Mehra |
Air Chief Marshal |
Jan 16, 1973 |
Jan 31, 1976 |
| 9 |
Hrushikesh Moolgavkar |
Air Chief Marshal |
Feb 1, 1976 |
Aug 31, 1978 |
| 10 |
I. H. Latif |
Air Chief Marshal |
Sep 1, 1978 |
Aug 31, 1981 |
| 11 |
Dilbagh Singh |
Air Chief Marshal |
Sep 1, 1981 |
Sep 4, 1984 |
| 12 |
Lakshman Madhav Katre |
Air Chief Marshal |
Sep 5, 1984 |
July 1, 1985 |
| 13 |
D. A. La Fontaine |
Air Chief Marshal |
July 3, 1985 |
July 31, 1988 |
| 14 |
S.K. Mehra |
Air Chief Marshal |
Aug 1, 1988 |
July 31, 1991 |
| 15 |
Nirmal Chandra Suri |
Air Chief Marshal |
Aug 1, 1991 |
July 31, 1993 |
| 16 |
S. K. Kaul |
Air Chief Marshal |
Aug 1, 1993 |
Dec 31, 1995 |
| 17 |
S. K. Sareen |
Air Chief Marshal |
Jan 1, 1996 |
Dec 31, 1998 |
| 18 |
A. Y. Tipnis |
Air Chief Marshal |
Jan 1, 1999 |
Dec 31, 2001 |
| 19 |
Srinivasapuram Krishnaswamy |
Air Chief Marshal |
Dec 31, 2001 |
Dec 31, 2004 |
| 20 |
Shashindra Pal Tyagi |
Air Chief Marshal |
Dec 31, 2004 |
Mar 31, 2007 |
| 21 |
Fali Homi Major |
Air Chief Marshal |
Mar 31, 2007 |
Mar 31, 2009 |
| 22 |
Pradeep Vasant Naik |
Air Chief Marshal |
Mar 31, 2009 |
July 31, 2011 |
| 23 |
Norman Anil Kumar Browne |
Air Chief Marshal |
Aug 1, 2011 |
Dec 31, 2013 |
| 24 |
Arup Raha |
Air Chief Marshal |
Dec 31, 2013 |
Dec 31, 2016 |
| 25. |
Birender Singh Dhanoa |
Air Chief Marshal |
Dec 31, 2016 |
Sep 30, 2019 |
| 26. |
Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria |
Air Chief Marshal |
Sep 30, 2019 |
Sep 30,2021 |
| 27. |
Air Chief Marshal |
Sep 30,2021 |
|
The highest rank in India's IAF is "Marshal of the Indian Air Force", which is conferred by the President of India only for exceptional service for the nation.
To date, only Arjan Singh was honoured with the post of "Marshal of the Indian Air" in 2002 for his distinguished service in commanding the IAF during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
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