air vice-marshal

American  

[vahys-mahr-shuhl, vahys-] / ˌvaɪsˈmɑr ʃəl, ˈvaɪs- /

noun

British.

1. an air force officer of a rank comparable to an army major general.

---

air vice-marshal British  

noun

1. a senior Royal Air Force officer of equivalent rank to a rear admiral in the Royal Navy

2. a Royal Australian Air Force officer of the second highest rank

3. a Royal New Zealand Air Force officer of the highest rank

---

Etymology

Origin of air vice-marshal

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

As a navigator for the RAF, he flew for 30 years, ending up as an air vice-marshal, running the UK's Joint Helicopter Command.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2025

Australian strategist and retired air vice-marshal John Blackburn told the Australian newspaper that "we would have major problems within two weeks" if there were a major disruption to global oil supplies.

From BBC • May 7, 2018

The curate behind the ribbons at St. John the Baptist's is the Rev. Narbrough Hughes D'Aeth, 58, and three years ago he was an R.A.F. air vice-marshal, with a C.B.

From Time Magazine Archive

He became a protege of goateed General Nguyen Khanh, who promoted Air Commodore Ky to the Anglicized altitude of air vice-marshal.

From Time Magazine Archive