Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force | |
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![]() Roundel of Canada | |
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Type | Commissioned Officer |
Status | Currently constituted |
Abbreviation | CRCAF |
Reports to | Chief of the Defence Staff |
Term length | At Her Majesty's pleasure |
Formation | 1914 |
First holder | Ernest Lloyd Janney |
Deputy | Commander of 1 Canadian Air Division |
Website | Official website |
The Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force (French: commandant de l'Aviation royale canadienne) is the institutional head of the Royal Canadian Air Force. This appointment also includes the title Chief of the Air Force Staff and is based at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario.
History of the position[]
With the creation of the Canadian Aviation Corps in 1914, a provisional commander was appointed. This small and short-lived organization was dissolved in 1915 and it was not until 1918 that the Canadian Air Force came into being under the authority of its Officer Commanding. The Canadian Air Force was reconstituted in 1920 and the officer in command (Air Commodore Tylee) held the title of Air Officer Commanding. It was also from 1920 to 1922 that Air Vice-Marshal Sir Willoughby Gwatkin served as Inspector-General of the Canadian Air Force although formally command was held by Tylee. Tylee's successors, not being air officers, only held the title of Officer Commanding. In 1922, the senior Air Force post was redesignated as the Director and in 1924, when the Canadian Air Force was granted its Royal prefix, the officer appointed to command the Air Force continued to hold the title of Director.[1]
From 1932 to 1938 the title of Senior Air Officer was used. In late 1938, the Air Force became an independent service and its professional head was retitled Chief of the Air Staff, bringing the Canadian higher command arrangements and nomenclature into line with that of the British and Australian air forces. The title of Chief of the Air Staff was used throughout World War II and well into the Cold War years. However, in 1964, the post was abolished as part of a plan to integrate the Canadian Forces and authority over aviation units was no longer vested in a single post. This arrangement was eventually judged to be impractical and in 1975 the air units of the Canadian Forces were placed within Air Command under the authority of a lieutenant-general with the title Commander of Air Command. In 1997 the Commander of Air Command was re-designated the Chief of the Air Staff, a title which continued in use until 2011. In 2011 Air Command was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force at which time the appointment was renamed to its present incarnation.[2]
Evolution of the position[]
Dates | Title | Rank(s) held | Air service |
---|---|---|---|
1914–1915 | Provisional Commander | Captain | Canadian Aviation Corps |
1918–1920 | Officer Commanding | Lieutenant Colonel | Canadian Air Force (first creation) |
1920–1922 | Air Officer Commanding Officer Commanding |
Air Commodore Wing Commander |
Canadian Air Force (second creation) |
1922–1924 | Director | Wing Commander | |
1924–1932 | Squadron Leader to Group Captain | Royal Canadian Air Force (first creation) | |
1932–1938 | Senior Air Officer | Wing Commander to Air Vice-Marshal | |
1938–1964 | Chief of the Air Staff | Air Vice-Marshal to Air Marshal | |
1964–1975 | no single air commander | not applicable | no single air power organization |
1975–1997 | Commander | Lieutenant-General | Air Command |
1997–2011 | Chief of the Air Staff | ||
2011– | Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force and Chief of the Air Force Staff | Royal Canadian Air Force (second creation) |
Appointees[]
The following table lists all those who have held the post of Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force or its preceding positions. Ranks and honours are as at the completion of their tenure:[1]
No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Provisional Commander | |||||
1 | E.L. Janney (1893–1941) | Captain1914 | 1915 | 0–1 years | |
Officer Commanding | |||||
1 | W.A. Bishop (1894–1956) | Lieutenant-Colonel1918 | 1918 | 0 years | |
Air Officer Commanding | |||||
1 | A.K. Tylee (1887–1961) | Air Commodore1920 | 1921 | 0–1 years | |
Officer Commanding | |||||
1 | R.F. Redpath (1888–1970) | Wing Commander1921 | 1921 | 0 years | |
2 | J.S. Scott (1889–1975) | Wing Commander1921 | 1922 | 0–1 years | |
Director | |||||
1 | J.L. Gordon (1892–1940) | Wing Commander1922 | 1924 | 1–2 years | |
2 | W.G. Barker (1894–1930) | Wing Commander1924 | 1924 | 0 years | |
3 | J.S. Scott (1889–1975) | Group Captain1924 | 1928 | 3–4 years | |
4 | L.S. Breadner (1894–1952) | Wing Commander1928 | 1932 | 3–4 years | |
5 | A.A.L. Cuffe (1895–1969) | Squadron Leader1932 | 1932 | 0 years | |
Senior Air Officer | |||||
1 | J.L. Gordon (1892–1940) | Group Captain1932 | 1933 | 0–1 years | |
2 | G.O. Johnson (1896–1980) | Wing Commander1933 | 1933 | 0 years | |
3 | G.M. Croil (1893–1959) | Air Vice Marshal1934 | 1938 | 3–4 years | |
Chief of the Air Staff | |||||
1 | G.M. Croil (1893–1959) | Air Vice Marshal1938 | 1940 | 1–2 years | |
2 | L.S. Breadner (1894–1952) | Air Marshal1940 | 1943 | 2–3 years | |
3 | R. Leckie (1890–1975) | Air Marshal1944 | 1947 | 2–3 years | |
4 | W.A. Curtis (1893–1977) | Air Marshal1947 | 1953 | 5–6 years | |
5 | C.R. Slemon (1904–1992) | Air Marshal1953 | 1957 | 3–4 years | |
6 | H.L. Campbell (1908–1987) | Air Marshal1957 | 1962 | 4–5 years | |
7 | C.R. Dunlap (1908–2003) | Air Marshal1962 | 1964 | 1–2 years | |
Commander of Air Command | |||||
1 | W.K. Carr (born 1923) | Lieutenant-General1975 | 1978 | 2–3 years | |
2 | G.A. MacKenzie (1931–2012) | Lieutenant-General1978 | 1980 | 1–2 years | |
3 | K.E. Lewis (c.1929–1992) | Lieutenant-General1980 | 1983 | 2–3 years | |
4 | P.D. Manson (born 1934) | Lieutenant-General1983 | 1985 | 1–2 years | |
5 | D.M. McNaughton (born 1934) | Lieutenant-General1985 | 1986 | 0–1 years | |
6 | L.A. Ashley (born 1937) | Lieutenant-General1986 | 1988 | 1–2 years | |
7 | F.R. Sutherland (born 1942) | Lieutenant-General1989 | 1991 | 1–2 years | |
8 | D. Huddleston | Lieutenant-General1991 | 1993 | 1–2 years | |
9 | G.S. Clements (born c.1941) | Lieutenant-General1993 | 1995 | 1–2 years | |
10 | A.M. DeQuetteville | Lieutenant-General1995 | 1997 | 1–2 years | |
Chief of the Air Staff | |||||
1 | D.N. Kinsman (born c.1945) | Lieutenant-General1997 | 2000 | 2–3 years | |
2 | L.C. Campbell (born c.1947) | Lieutenant-General2000 | 2003 | 2–3 years | |
3 | K.R. Pennie (born c.1949) | Lieutenant-General2003 | 2005 | 1–2 years | |
4 | J.S. Lucas (born 1952) | Lieutenant-General2005 | 2007 | 1–2 years | |
5 | A. Watt | Lieutenant-General2007 | 2009 | 1–2 years | |
6 | A. Deschamps | Lieutenant-General2009 | 2011 | 1–2 years | |
Chief of the Air Force Staff and Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force | |||||
1 | A. Deschamps | Lieutenant-General2011 | 2012 | 0–1 years | |
2 | Y. Blondin | Lieutenant-General2012 | 2015 | 2–3 years | |
3 | M J Hood (born 1967) | Lieutenant-GeneralJuly 2015 | May 2018 | 2–3 years | |
4 | A D Meinzinger | Lieutenant-GeneralMay 2018 | Incumbent | 3–4 years |
See also[]
- Chief of the Defence Staff, the second most senior member of the Canadian Armed Forces after the Commander-in-Chief
- Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy, the institutional head of the Royal Canadian Navy.
- Commander of the Canadian Army, the institutional head of the Canadian Army.
Notes[]
- ^ a b "Commanders Canada's Air Force". Royal Canadian Air Force Association. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ Canadian Navy, Air Force 'Royal' Again With Official Name Change Huffington Post, 15 August 2011
References[]
- Johnson, Vic. "Canada's Air Force Then and Now". Airforce magazine. Vol. 22, No. 3. 1998. ISSN 0704-6804.
External links[]
- The Armed Forces of Canada 1867-1967 p. 271[permanent dead link]
- Military appointments of Canada
- Royal Canadian Air Force
- Air force chiefs of staff