Marshal of the Air Force is a five star Air Officer rank and the highest attainable rank in the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct ...

. Marshal of the Air Force is ranked immediately above

Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admi ...

. It is a ceremonial or wartime rank, having been awarded only once. Marshal of the Air Force

Arjan Singh Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC (15 April 1919 – 16 September 2017) was a senior air officer of the Indian Air Force. He served as the 3rd Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969, leading the Air Force through the Indo-Pa ...

, DFC is the only Officer to have held this rank. Marshal of the Air Force is equivalent to

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

and admiral of the fleet in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. While the rank of admiral of the fleet has never been awarded, there have been two Field Marshals -

Sam Manekshaw Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw (3 April 1914 – 27 June 2008), widely known as Sam Manekshaw and Sam Bahadur ("Sam the Brave"), was the Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of ...

and K M Cariappa.

Overview

A Marshal of the Air Force receives the full pay of a four–star service chief, and is considered a serving officer until their death. They wear a full uniform on all ceremonial occasions. In addition to this, they also run an office with a secretariat.

Rank holder

Arjan Singh

MIAF Arjan Singh, DFC (15 April 1919 – 16 September 2017) was the first and only Officer to be promoted to the five star rank of Marshal of the Air Force. He served as the 3rd Chief of the Air Staff from 1964 to 1969. In 1966, he became the first IAF officer to be promoted to

. For his distinguished service in commanding the IAF during the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

, he was awarded the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

. After retiring from the Indian Air Force, he served as a diplomat, politician and advisor to the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

. He was

Lieutenant Governor of Delhi The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is the constitutional head of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The post was first established in September 1966, when The Delhi Administration Act, 1966 came into effect. Thus the former Delhi Legislativ ...

from 1989 to 1990. He was conferred with the rank of the Marshal of the Air Force in a ceremony at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati B ...

by the then

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

, K. R. Narayanan in 2002.

Insignia

The badges of rank consist of four sky blue bands (each on a slightly wider navy blue band) over a sky blue band on a navy blue broad band. A Marshal of the Indian Air Force wears gorget patches which are blue patches with five white stars. In addition to this, the Blue Grey terrywool tunic has four sleeve stripes consisting of a broad band with four narrower bands. A Marshal carries a gold-tipped baton on formal occasions. File:Indian IAF OF-10.svg, Marshal of the IAF shoulder board File:IAF Marshal of the AF sleeve.png, Marshal of the IAF sleeve File:Flag of the Marshal of the Air Force (India).svg, Marshal of the IAF command flag File:Marshal of Indian Air Force Arjan Singh.png, Marshal of the IAF's baton

References

{{Military ranks by country India Air Force Indian Air Force Military ranks of the Indian Air Force Five-star officers

Overview

Rank holder

Arjan Singh

Insignia

See also

References