Chief marshal of the branch

The ranks of chief marshal of aviation, artillery, armoured troops, engineer troops, and signals were established on 27 October 1943. The three former branches had already had (since 4 February 1943) the corresponding ranks of marshal; in the two latter branches the ranks of marshal and of chief marshal were established simultaneously. When the rank of chief marshal was established, the size of the shoulder board's stars for all marshals except the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union were made about 10mm smaller, and for chief marshals, the star was surrounded by a laurel wreath. On the uniform tie, chief marshals wore the marshal's star of the 2nd level. During the next forty years, the ranks of chief marshal were conferred mainly on deputy defense ministers – commanders of the corresponding branch. The ranks of chief marshal of engineer troops and chief marshal of signals, abolished in 1984, were never conferred on anybody. No chief marshal promotions were conferred after 1984. The youngest chief marshal was aviator Golovanov, 40 when promoted in 1944. Three of thirteen people who held the chief marshal rank did not retire normally: Novikov was imprisoned for seven years; Nedelin perished in the flame of an exploded rocket; Varentsov was accused of heedlessness, dismissed and degraded (his subordinate, Oleg Penkovsky, had been found to be a spy).

Shoulder boards & epaulettes

Designation	Chief marshal of a branch
... to uniform basic/ field	Shoulder boards 1943–1955
... to service / field uniform
... to dress uniform	Shoulder boards 1955–1974
Russian designation	Главный маршал артиллерии	Главный маршал авиации	Главный маршал бронетанковых войск	Главный маршал войск связи	Главный маршал инженерных войск
English designation	Chief marshal of  artillery	Chief marshal of  aviation	Chief marshal of  armored troops	Chief marshal of  signal troops	Chief marshal of  engineer troops
Emblem

• Marshal of the Soviet Union
• Marshal of the branch
• Ranks and rank insignia of the Soviet Armed Forces 1943–1955, and 1955–1991