The Air Force Cross (AFC) is a military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 other ranks, of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

, and formerly also to officers of the other

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

countries. It is granted for "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry while flying, though not in active operations against the enemy". A

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

is added to the ribbon for holders who are awarded a further AFC.

History

The award was established on 3 June 1918, shortly after the formation 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 towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF). It was originally awarded to RAF

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

s and

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

s, but was later expanded to include Royal Navy and army aviation officers. While consistently awarded for service while "flying though not in active operations against the enemy", the AFC was originally awarded for "valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying" with many awards made for meritorious service over a period of time, rather than a specific act of bravery. These awards were discontinued in 1993, when the criteria were narrowed to "exemplary gallantry while flying". A

is added to the ribbon of holders of the AFC for each further award, with a silver rosette worn on the ribbon when worn alone to denote the award of each bar.. Recipients of the Air Force Cross are entitled to use the

post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...

"AFC". Between 1919 and 1932 the AFC was also awarded to civilians, on the same basis as for RAF personnel. In March 1941 eligibility was extended to Naval officers of the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

, and in November 1942 to Army officers, with posthumous awards permitted from 1979. Since the 1993 review of the honours system as part of the drive to remove distinctions of rank in bravery awards, all ranks of all arms of the Armed Forces have been eligible, and the

Air Force Medal The Air Force Medal (AFM) was a military decoration, awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned officer, comm ...

, which had until then been awarded to

other ranks Other ranks (ORs) in the Royal Marines (RM), the British Army, and the Royal Air Force (RAF), along with the navies, armies, and air forces of many other Commonwealth countries and Ireland, are those personnel who are not commissioned officers, bu ...

, was discontinued. The AFC had also been awarded by Commonwealth countries but by the 1990s most, including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, had established their own honours systems and no longer recommended British honours.

Description

* The medal is a silver cross, in height and wide, representing aircraft propeller blades, with wings between the arms. It was design by

Edward Carter Preston Edward Carter Preston (7 July 1885 – 2 March 1965) was an English artist, renowned as a sculptor and medallist. Biography Preston was born, and died, in Liverpool. He designed the bronze memorial plaques presented to the families of Britis ...

. * The obverse depicts

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

, riding on the wings of a hawk holding a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a symbol of triumph, a wreath (attire), wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen. It was also later made from spineless butcher's broom (''Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cher ...

. At the top of the upper arm is the royal crown, while the other three arms bear the

royal cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning Monarch, sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a Crown (heral ...

of the reigning monarch at the time of issue. * The reverse is plain, except for a central roundel bearing the reigning monarch's cypher and the date '1918'. Originally awarded unnamed, from 1939 the year of issue was engraved on the reverse lower limb of cross, and since 1984 it has been awarded named to the recipient. * The suspender is straight and decorated with laurel wreaths. * The ribbon bar denoting a further award is silver, with the Royal Air Force eagle in its centre. Bars awarded during World War II have the year of award engraved on the reverse. * The 32 mm (1.25 inch) ribbon was originally white with red broad horizontal stripes, but changed in July 1919 to the current white with red broad diagonal stripes at a 45-degree angle.

Recipients

Numbers awarded

From 1918 to 2017 approximately 5,360 Air Force Crosses and 193 bars have been awarded. The figures to 1979 are laid out in the table below, the dates reflecting the relevant entries in the London Gazette: In addition, between 1980 and 2017 approximately 279 AFCs and eight second-award bars have been awarded. The above figures include awards to the

Dominions A dominion was any of several largely self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of colonial self-governance increased (and, in ...

: In all, 560 AFCs have gone to Canadians, including those serving in the RAF, including 70 for World War I, 462 and one bar for World War II and 28 post–war awards. A total of 444 AFCs and two bars have been awarded to Australians, the last award made in 1983. A number of awards were made to New Zealanders until the AFC was replaced by the New Zealand Gallantry Decoration in 1999. A total of 87 honorary awards have been made to members of allied foreign forces, including 26 for World War I, 58 for World War II and three post-war, the latter all to members of the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Notable awards

* George Bulman (1896–1963); awarded the AFC three times for services as a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

. *

Geoffrey Dhenin Air Marshal Sir Geoffrey Howard Dhenin, (2 April 1918 – 6 May 2011) was a British physician and senior Royal Air Force officer. From 1974 to 1978, he served as Director General of the RAF Medical Services. Early life and education Dhenin wa ...

(1918–2008); awarded the AFC twice for his role in the British nuclear weapons tests in Australia (1954 and 1959). *

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to ...

Andrew Humphrey Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Andrew Henry Humphrey, (10 January 1921 – 24 January 1977) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He fought in the Second World War as a fighter pilot taking part in the Battle of Britain and also too ...

(1921–1977); awarded the AFC three times, * Willie Read (1885–1972); awarded the AFC three times. * H. P. Ruffell Smith (1911–1980); awarded the AFC three times. * Peter Thorne (1923–2014); awarded the AFC three times (1947, 1951 and 1956).

References

External links

Page including text from the ''London Gazette'' dated 5 December 1919, establishing DFC, AFC, DFM and AFM

Current Royal Warrant for the AFC. ''London Gazette'', 17 September 2002
{{South African military decorations and medals Military awards and decorations of the United Kingdom Courage awards