(Last Updated on 10th May, 2017)
Chief of the Air Staff is the commander and the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Air Force and is usually held by a four-star officer of the rank Air Chief Marshal.
The highest rank in the 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.
Let us now take a look at the list of Chief of Air Staff of India
|
Name |
Duration |
|
Air Marshal Sir Thomas Elmhirst |
15 August 1947-21 February 1950 |
|
Air Marshal Sir Ronald Lvelaw Chapman |
22 February 1950-9 December 1951 |
|
Air Marshal Sir Gerald Gibbs |
10 December 1951-31 March 1954 |
|
Air Marshal S. Mukherjee |
1 April 1954-8 November 1960 |
|
Air Marshal A.M.Engineer |
1 December 1960-31 July 1964 |
|
Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh |
1 August1964-15 July 1969 |
|
Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal |
16 July 1969-15 January 1973 |
|
Air Chief Marshal O.P. Mehra |
16 January 1973-31 January 1976 |
|
Air Chief Marshal H. Moolgavkar |
1 February 1976-31 August 1978 |
|
Air Chief Marshal I.H.Latif |
1 December 1978-31 August 1981 |
|
Air Chief Marshal Dilbagh Singh |
1 September 1981-3 September 1984 |
|
Air Chief Marshal L.M. Katre |
4 September 1984-1 July 1985 |
|
Air Chief Marshal D.A. La Fontaine |
3 July 1985-31 July 1988 |
|
Air Chief Marshal S.K. Mehra |
1 August 1988-31 July 1991 |
|
Air Chief Marshal N.C. Suri |
1 August 1991-31 July 1993 |
|
Air Chief Marshal S.K. Kaul |
1 August 1993-31 December 1995 |
|
Air Chief Marshal S.K. Sareen |
31 December 1995-31 December 1998 |
|
Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis |
1 January 1999- 31 December 2001 |
|
Air Chief Marshal Srinivasapuram Krishna Swamy |
31 December 2001 – 1 January 2005 |
|
Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi |
1 January 2005 -31 March 2007 |
|
Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major |
31 March 2007 – 31 May 2009 |
|
Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik |
01 June 2009 – 31 July 2011 |
|
Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne |
31 July 2011 – 31 December 2013 |
|
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha |
31 December 2013 – 31 December 2016 |
|
Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa |
31 December 2016 – Incumbent |
Also Read our post on List of Chief of Naval Staff of India