The first commander-in-chief of the Indian Air Force was Air Marshal Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst. He was Air Chief from 15 Aug 1947 – 22 Feb 1950. Chief of the Air workers is that the skilled head and therefore the commander of the Indian Air Force. The position is abbreviated as CAS in the Indian Air Force cables and communication and is usually held by a four-star air officer of the rank Air Chief Marshal. The current Chief of Indian Air Force is Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa who took office from 31 December 2016
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Air Marshal Sir Thomas Walker Elmhirst (15 December 1895 – 6 November 1982) was a senior commander among the Royal Air Force among the half the 20th century and therefore the first commander-in-chief of the newly independent Indian Air Force where he organized the funeral of Mahatma Gandhi following his assassination in 1948. He later became the Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of dairy cattle from 1953 to 1958. Thomas Elmhirst was born on 15 December month 1895 to Reverend William Heaton Elmhirst and Blessed Virgin Elmhirst (a landed gentry’s family in the geographical area, where the family seat is Houndhill.
