Captain General of the Air Force ( es, Capitán General del Aire or ) is a five-star

air force officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

rank and the highest rank of the Spanish Air Force. The five-star NATO rank code is

OF-10 A five-star rank is the highest military rank in many countries.Oxford English Dictionary (OED), 2nd Edition, 1989. "five" ... "five-star adj., ... (b) U.S., applied to a general or admiral whose badge of rank includes five stars;" The rank is t ...

. The honorary appointments formally ceased in 1999. The rank of Air captain general is equivalent to a Marshal of the Air Force in many nations such as the United Kingdom, a general of the Air Force of the United States, a capitain general of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

or the Navy. This rank is reserved to the monarch as Commander-in-chief. An Air captain general's insignia consists of two command sticks under five four-pointed stars below the Royal Crown and a golden string. The Spanish Air Force as a separated branch of the

Spanish Armed Forces The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Constitution o ...

was officially established on 7 October 1939, after the Spanish Civil War.

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

as head of Spanish state and commander-in-chief named himself 1st captain general of the Spanish Air Force. General Ángel Salas Larrazábal, a veteran

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

, has been the only honorary Air captain general (1991-1994).

List of Captain generals

Notes

References

{{reflist
''Captain General''
ASAVE Website.

List of Captain generals

See also

Notes

References