The Chief of the Air Command is the topmost authority in the

Royal Danish Air Force The Royal Danish Air Force ( da, Flyvevåbnet, lit=The Flying weapon) (RDAF) is the aerial warfare force of The Kingdom of Denmark and one of the four branches of the Danish Defence. Initially being components of the Army and the Navy, it was ...

. It can trace its history back to the creation of the Chief for the Naval Air Service, in 1913. The current chief of the Air Force is Major general Jan Dam.

History

On 14 December 1911, the Naval Air Service was established. On 25 March 1912, the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Isla ...

received its first airplane the ''

Kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

'', in 1913 the first chief was named. In 1912, the Army Air Corps was established. The first chief was named in 1917. Following the destruction of the air forces during World War II, it was decided that the two forces should be collected under one force. From 1947 till the creation of the RDAF, Torben Ørum served as Combined Army and Naval Air Corps Chief. In 1950, the Air Command and the position of Chief of the Air Force was created. With the creation of the Defence Staff and

Chief of Defence The chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national military position withi ...

, in 1970, the Chief of the Air Force was subjugated to the CoD. In 1982, the title of Chief of the Air Force was changed to become Inspector of the Air Force. Following the 1988 Defence Commission, it was decided that the Air Staff and the positions of Inspector would be removed and then create the

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...

. Following the

Danish Defence Agreement 2013–17 Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

, the Tactical Air Command was disbanded and reorganised into the Air Staff. On 1 January 2019, as part of the

Danish Defence Agreement 2018–23 Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

, the Danish name was changed Air Command.

List of chiefs

Combined Army and Naval Air Corps (1947–1950)

Air Command (1950–1969)

Air Staff (1970–1990)

, - ! colspan=7, Chief of the Air Force , - ! colspan=7, Inspector of the Air Force

Tactical Air Command (1990–2014)

Air Staff (2014–2018)

Air Command (2019–present)

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * {{Chief of the air force by country Royal Danish Air Force Military of Denmark

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Chiefs of Staff (Denmark)