The following is a list of Australians who have attained air marshal rank within the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF); that is, service personnel who have held the rank of air chief marshal (four-star rank), air marshal (three-star rank) or air vice-marshal (two-star rank). The Royal Australian Air Force was established in 1921 as a separate branch of the Australian military forces. The service was modelled after the Royal Air Force—formed three years earlier—and adopted the same ranking system. Richard Williams, regarded as the "father" of the Royal Australian Air Force, was the service's first member to obtain air-officer rank on being promoted to air commodore (one-star rank) in 1927; he went on to become the first air vice-marshal (1935) and air marshal (1940). In 1965, Sir Frederick Scherger became the first officer to be advanced to air chief marshal, one of only four members of the Royal Australian Air Force to obtain this rank as of February 2024. A further twenty-six individuals have reached air marshal in the RAAF and 147 air vice-marshal; seven officers have retired with the honorary rank of air vice-marshal.
Air chief marshals
The rank of air chief marshal is the most senior rank within the Royal Australian Air Force to which, excluding ceremonial appointments, any officer has ever been promoted. Only the five-star rank of Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force is higher, but it has been held in only a ceremonial capacity. As there are currently no appointments in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) at the five-star level, there is no prospect of a RAAF officer achieving the rank in a professional (i.e. non-ceremonial) capacity. Additionally, Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force is generally considered to be a marshal rank as opposed to an air marshal rank and so the only two individuals ever to hold the rank, King George VI and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, are not listed in a separate section. With the current structure of the ADF, the rank of air chief marshal is held only when an officer of the RAAF is appointed as Chief of the Defence Force. As of June 2018, only four officers have obtained the rank of air chief marshal in the RAAF, the first being Sir Frederick Scherger in 1965 who was also the first non-Army officer in the Australian military to reach four-star rank. Mark Binskin is the most-recently promoted of the four, having been advanced to air chief marshal in June 2014.
Air chief marshals of the Royal Australian Air Force are as follows:
Name Born Died Senior command(s) and notes 1960 Chief of the Defence Force (2014–18), Vice Chief of the Defence Force (2011–14), Chief of Air Force (2008–11), Air Commander Australia (2007–08) 1947 Chief of the Defence Force (2005–11), Chief of Air Force (2001–05) 1923 2014 Chief of the Defence Force Staff (1982–84), Chief of the Air Staff (1979–82), Commander, RAAF Forces Vietnam (1971–72) 1904 1984 Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (1961–66), Chief of the Air Staff (1957–61)
Air marshals
Air marshal is the highest permanent rank in the Royal Australian Air Force. The rank of air marshal is always held by the Chief of Air Force, though is also held when a RAAF officer is appointed as Vice Chief of the Defence Force, Chief of Joint Operations, Chief of Joint Capabilities or equivalent positions. Richard Williams was the first officer to attain the rank of air marshal in the RAAF on promotion in 1940. Regarded as the 'father' of the Royal Australian Air Force, Williams was its first and longest serving chief, being appointed to the post during three different periods and serving for a total of thirteen years. Glen Braz is the most recent officer to obtain the rank of air marshal, having been promoted to the rank in July 2026.
Air marshals of the Royal Australian Air Force are as follows:
Name Born Died Senior command(s) and notes* 1969 Chief of Joint Capabilities (2026–), Air Commander Australia (2023–26), Deputy Chief of Air Force (2023), First Assistant Director-General Expeditionary and Transnational Intelligence Division (2020–22) 1958 Chief of Air Force (2011–15), Deputy Chief of Air Force (2008–11)* 1975 Chief of Air Force (2024–), Head Military Strategic Commitments (2022–24)* 1971 Vice Chief of the Defence Force (2024–), Chief of Air Force (2022–24) 1960 Chief of Air Force (2015–19), Deputy Chief of Air Force (2012–15) 1925 2020 Chief of the Air Staff (1982–85), Chief of Joint Operations and Plans (1980–82) 1941 Chief of Air Force (1997–98), Chief of the Air Staff (1994–97) 1935 Chief of the Air Staff (1987–92), Vice Chief of the Defence Force (1986–87) 1975 National Cyber Security Coordinator (2023), Air Commander Australia (2022–23) 1936 Chief of Air Force (1992–94), Air Commander Australia (1990–92). Brother of General Peter Gration 1907 1998 Chief of the Air Staff (1961–65), Air Officer Commanding Operational Command (1959–61) 1914 1978 Governor of Queensland (1972–77), Chief of the Air Staff (1970–72), Air Officer Commanding Operational Command (1965–67) 1954 Chief of Capability Development Group (2010–12), Program Manager, New Air Combat Capability (2006–10) 1962 Chief of Air Force (2019–22), Chief of Joint Operations (2018–19), Head Force Design (2016–18), Head Capability Systems (2014–15), Air Commander Australia (2012–14) 1896 1992 Director of Coordination, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (1952–57), Chief of the Air Staff (1942–52) 1899 1989 Chief of the Air Staff (1954–57), Air Officer Commanding Home Command (1949–54) 1963 Chief of Joint Capabilities (2017–20), Deputy Chief of Air Force (2015–17) 1941 2024 Chief of Air Force (1998–01), Deputy Chief of Air Force (1997–98) 1912 1984 Chief of the Air Staff (1965–69), Air Officer Commanding Operational Command (1962–65) 1930 2022 Chief of the Air Staff (1985–87), Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (1984–85) 1969 Chief of Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (2023–26), Head Aerospace Systems Division (2022–23) 1918 2014 Chief of the Air Staff (1972–75), Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (1970–72) 1943 Vice Chief of the Defence Force (1998–00) 1922 1999 Governor of New South Wales (1981–89), Chief of the Air Staff (1975–79) 1952 Chief of Air Force (2005–08), Air Commander Australia (2003–05) 1890 1980 Director-General of Civil Aviation (1946–55), Air Officer Commanding Overseas Headquarters (1941–42), Chief of the Air Staff (1922; 1925–32; 1934–39)
Air vice-marshals
The first Royal Australian Air Force air vice-marshal was Richard Williams in 1935; he was followed by Stanley Goble—Williams' successor all three times he held the position of Chief of the Air Staff—two years later. The list of RAAF air vice-marshals includes Frank McNamara, the first Australian aviator to be decorated with the Victoria Cross (VC). McNamara was awarded the VC in 1917 while serving with the Australian Flying Corps, the Australian Army's air branch and predecessor of the RAAF, in the First World War; he was promoted air vice-marshal in 1942. As of January 2023, six women have reached air vice-marshal rank. On promotion to air vice-marshal in 2003, Julie Hammer became the first woman to achieve two-star rank in the ADF. Hammer has since been joined by Margaret Staib (2010), Tracy Smart (2015), Cath Roberts (2016), Barbara Courtney (2021), Wendy Blyth (2022), and Dianne Turton (2024).
Air vice-marshals of the Royal Australian Air Force are as follows: