The Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) is a senior appointment in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. The incumbent is the deputy to the Chief of the Air Staff. The post existed from 1918 to 1969, and from 2023 to present. The Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, formerly the Deputy Commander Capability, is responsible for the strategic planning and delivery of all aspects of

capability, including people, equipment, infrastructure, and training. The appointee is a Member of the United Kingdom's

Air Force Board The Air Force Board of the Defence Council is responsible for the management of the Royal Air Force. Prior to the creation of the current UK Ministry of Defence in 1964, the administration of the RAF and its personnel was undertaken by the ...

as the Air Member for Personnel and Capability due to their position. The current Deputy Chief of the Air Staff is Air Marshal Paul Lloyd.

History

The post was created on 3 January 1918 as part of the preliminary work before the creation of the RAF and the incumbent sat on the

Air Council Air Council (or Air Force Council) was the governing body of the Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed ...

. However, with the establishment of the RAF on 1 April 1918, the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff was removed from the Air Council. From the mid-1920s to 1938, the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff was double-hatted as the RAF's Director of Operations and Intelligence. In 1930, when Trenchard stepped down as Chief of the Air Staff, the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff was once again appointed to the Air Council. The responsibilities on the Air Force Board were split differently from 1967 until the merger of Personnel and Training Command with Strike Command to form

RAF Air Command Air Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshi ...

on 1 April 2007. This appointment is currently held concurrently with the Air Member for Personnel.

List of post holders

Holders of the post included: Deputy Chief of the Air Staff *3 January 1918 Major General Mark Kerr *1 April 1918 Brigadier General Robert Marsland Groves *12 August 1918 Brigadier General Oliver Swann *February 1919 Brigadier General Robert Marsland Groves (Also Director of Operations and Intelligence) *8 September 1919

Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

John Miles Steel (Also Director of Operations and Intelligence) *12 April 1926 Air Commodore Cyril Newall (Also Director of Operations and Intelligence) *6 February 1931 Air Commodore Charles Burnett (Also Director of Operations and Intelligence) *1 February 1933

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt (Also Director of Operations and Intelligence) *26 January 1935 Air Vice-Marshal Christopher Courtney (Also Director of Operations and Intelligence) *25 January 1937 Air Vice-Marshal

Richard Peirse Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Edmund Charles Peirse, (30 September 1892 – 5 August 1970), served as a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career The son of Admiral Sir Richard Peirse and his wife Blanche Melville Wemyss-Whittaker, Richard ...

(Also Director of Operations and Intelligence) *22 April 1940 Air Vice-Marshal Sholto Douglas *25 November 1940 Air Vice-Marshal

Arthur Harris Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet, (13 April 1892 – 5 April 1984), commonly known as "Bomber" Harris by the press and often within the RAF as "Butcher" or "Butch" Harris, was Air Officer Commanding, Air O ...

*1 June 1941 Air Vice-Marshal

Norman Bottomley Air Chief Marshal Sir Norman Howard Bottomley, (18 September 1891 – 13 August 1970) was the successor to Arthur 'Bomber' Harris as Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command in 1945. RAF career Born in Ripponden, West Riding of Yorkshire, Bott ...

(from 3 May 1942 to 30 July 1943 the post was titled Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations)) *September 1945 Air Marshal Sir Albert Durston *4 February 1948 Air Marshal Sir Hugh Walmsley *1 March 1950 Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Sanders *17 March 1952 Air Chief Marshal Sir John Baker *1 November 1952 Air Marshal Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman *9 November 1953 Air Marshal Sir

Thomas Pike Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Geoffrey Pike, (29 June 1906 – 1 June 1983) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the Second World War as a night fighter squadron commander and then as a station commander. He wa ...

*4 July 1956 Air Marshal Sir Geoffrey Tuttle *15 November 1959 Air Marshal Sir Charles Elworthy *18 July 1960 Air Marshal Sir Ronald Lees *June 1963 Air Marshal Sir Christopher Hartley *1 April 1966 Air Marshal Sir Reginald Emson *30 January 1967 Air Marshal Sir

Peter Wykeham Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Deputy Commanders-in-Chief (Capability) *Air Marshal Stephen Dalton, 1 May 2007 to 31 March 2009 *Air Marshal Simon Bryant, 1 April 2009RAF Air Rank Appointments List 07/08 of 16 Oct 2008
retrieved 3 Jan 2011 to 17 June 2010 *Air Marshal Andrew Pulford, 1 September 2010RAF Air Rank Appointments List 04/10 of 18 Jun 2010
retrieved 3 Jan 2011 to 2012 Deputy Commanders (Capability) *Air Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford, 2012 to 3 May 2013 *Air Marshal Sir Barry North, 3 May 2013 to May 2016 *Air Marshal Sean Reynolds, May 2016 to August 2018 *Air Marshal Michael Wigston, August 2018 to May 2019 *Air Marshal Andrew Turner, May 2019 to April 2022 * Air Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, May 2022 to May 2023 Deputy Chief of the Air Staff * Air Marshal Richard Maddison, May 2023 to September 2023 * Air Marshal Paul Lloyd, September 2023 to present

References

*{{cite web , url=http://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/AirMin2.htm , title=Air Council Appointments , first=M. B. , last=Barrass , website=Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation Royal Air Force appointments

History

List of post holders

See also

References