Chief of Air Force (New Zealand)

Head of the Royal New Zealand Air Force

Chief of Air Force

Incumbent
Darryn Webb

since 2 October 2023

Style| Air Vice Marshal
Member of| New Zealand Defence Force
Reports to| Chief of Defence Force
Term length| Three years (renewable)
Inaugural holder| Group Captain Ralph Cochrane
Formation| 1 April 1937

Chief of Air Force (CAF) is the most senior appointment in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, responsible to the Chief of Defence Force. The post was originally known as the Chief of the Air Staff.

## Appointees

[edit]

Air Vice Marshal Sir Leonard Isitt, representing New Zealand, accepts the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945

This along with the * (asterisk) indicates that the individual was subsequently promoted to air marshal and appointed Chief of Defence Force.

The following list chronologically records those who have held the post of Chief of Air Force or its preceding positions, with rank and honours as at the completion of the individual's term.

Rank | Name | Postnominals | Service | Term began | Term ended

|
|
|
|
|

Chief of the Air Staff
Group Captain | Ralph Cochrane | CBE, AFC | RAF | 1 April 1937[1] | 24 February 1939
Group Captain | Hugh Saunders | CBE, MC, DFC & Bar, MM | RAF | 25 February 1939[2] | 28 September 1941
Air Commodore | Victor Goddard | CB, CBE | RAF | 29 September 1941[3] | 18 July 1943
Air Vice-Marshal | Sir Leonard Isitt | KBE | RNZAF | 19 July 1943[4] | May 1946
Air Vice-Marshal | Sir Arthur Nevill | KBE, CB | RNZAF | May 1946 | January 1951
Air Vice-Marshal | David Carnegie | CB, CBE, AFC | RAF | January 1951[5] | 22 February 1954
Air Vice-Marshal | Walter Merton | CB, OBE | RAF | 23 February 1954[6] | 4 June 1956
Air Vice-Marshal | Cyrus Kay | CB, CBE, DFC | RNZAF | 5 June 1956 | 30 June 1958
Air Vice-Marshal | Malcolm Calder | CB, CBE | RNZAF | 1 July 1958 | November 1962
Air Vice-Marshal | Ian Morrison | CB, CBE | RNZAF | November 1962 | July 1966
Air Vice-Marshal | Cameron Turner | CB, CBE | RNZAF | July 1966 | July 1969
Air Vice-Marshal | William Stratton | CB, CBE, DFC & Bar | RNZAF | July 1969 | July 1971
Air Vice-Marshal | Douglas St George | CB, CBE, DFC, AFC | RNZAF | July 1971 | September 1974
Air Vice-Marshal | Richard Bolt* | CB, CBE, DFC, AFC | RNZAF | September 1974 | October 1976
Air Vice-Marshal | Larry Siegert | CB, CBE, MVO, DFC, AFC | RNZAF | October 1976 | October 1979
Air Vice-Marshal | Ewan Jamieson* | CB, OBE | RNZAF | October 1979 | April 1983
Air Vice-Marshal | David Crooks* | CB, OBE | RNZAF | April 1983 | October 1986
Air Vice-Marshal | Patrick Neville | CB, CBE, AFC | RNZAF | October 1986 | 1988
Air Vice-Marshal | Peter Adamson | CB, OBE | RNZAF | 1988 | 1992
Air Vice-Marshal | John Hosie | CB, OBE | RNZAF | 1992 | September 1995
Air Vice-Marshal | Carey Adamson* | CNZM, AFC | RNZAF | September 1995[7] | 24 February 1999
Air Vice-Marshal | Don Hamilton | OBE | RNZAF | 25 February 1999[8] | 24 February 2002
Chief of Air Force
Air Vice-Marshal | John Hamilton | ONZM, MVO | RNZAF | 25 February 2002[9] | 30 April 2006
Air Vice-Marshal | Graham Lintott | ONZM | RNZAF | 1 May 2006[10] | 30 April 2011
Air Vice-Marshal | Peter Stockwell | ONZM, AFC | RNZAF | 1 May 2011 | 30 April 2014
Air Vice-Marshal | Mike Yardley | DSD | RNZAF | 1 May 2014[11] | 22 March 2016
Air Vice-Marshal | Tony Davies* | MNZM | RNZAF | 23 March 2016[12] | 9 September 2018
Air Vice-Marshal | Andrew Clark |  | RNZAF | 10 September 2018[13] | 2 October 2023
Air Vice-Marshal  | Darryn Webb | MNZM | RNZAF  | 2 October 2023  | Incumbent

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Air Chief Marshal The Hon Sir Ralph Cochrane". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
2. ^ "Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
3. ^ "Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Archived from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
4. ^ Crooks, David M. "Isitt, Leonard Monk 1891 – 1976". Dictionary of New Zealand biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
5. ^ "Air Vice Marshal D V Carnegie (07004)". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
6. ^ "Air Chief Marshal Sir Walter Merton". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
7. ^ Lee-Frampton, Nick (24–30 July 1996). "Forward Thrust". Flight International. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
8. ^ "The Post War Years". RNZAF. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
9. ^ "The Defence Portfolio Briefing to the Incoming Government 2002". New Zealand Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
10. ^ "Chief of Air Force". New Zealand Defence Force. Archived from the original on 17 March 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
11. ^ "New Air Force chief named". New Zealand Herald. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
12. ^ "Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee appoints new RNZAF Chief". Stuff.co.nz. Fairfax Digital. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
13. ^ "New Chiefs Appointed for All Three Branches of the Armed Forces". The New Zealand Herald. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.

* v
* t
* e

Leadership of the New Zealand Defence Force

* Chief of Defence Force

* Vice Chief of Defence Force
* Chief of Navy
* Chief of Army
* Chief of Air Force
* Commander Joint Forces New Zealand

* v
* t
* e

Chiefs of the air force by country

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* DR Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Swaziland
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Former|

* Biafra
* Bophuthatswana
* Ciskei
* British Egypt
* Ethiopian Empire
* Rhodesia
* Transkei
* Venda
* Zaire

Americas|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Abkhazia
* Afghanistan
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* East Timor
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* IRIAF
* NEHSA
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Republic of China (Taiwan)
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Former|

* Democratic Kampuchea
* Imperial Japan
* Mengjiang
* Manchukuo
* South Vietnam

Europe|

* Albania
* Austria
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany
* Georgia
* Greece
* Hungary
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kosovo
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg
* Macedonia
* Malta
* Moldova
* Monaco
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* Norway
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom
* Vatican

Former|

* Austria–Hungary
* Independent State of Croatia
* Czechoslovakia
* Prussia
* Imperial Germany
* Nazi Germany
* East Germany
* Ottoman Empire
* Russian Empire
* Soviet Union
* Yugoslavia

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea
* Tonga
* Vanuatu

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template