From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Senior rank of the Royal Navy
Commodore
(
Cdre
) is a rank of the
Royal Navy
above
captain
and below
rear admiral
. It has a
NATO
ranking code of
OF-6
. The rank is equivalent to
brigadier
in the
British Army
and
Royal Marines
and to
air commodore
in the
Royal Air Force
. Commodore has only been a substantive rank in the Royal Navy since 1997. Until then the term denoted a functional position rather than a formal rank, being the title bestowed on the senior officer of a fleet of at least two naval vessels comprising an independent (usually ad hoc and short-term) command. (In this case, for instance, a lieutenant in substantive rank could be a commodore for the term of the command.)
History
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]
The rank of commodore was introduced during the 17th century in November 1674 (though not legally established until 1806). In 1684 the navy introduced two classes of commodore, the first known as a
Commodore Distinction
and the other a
Commodore Ordinary
; these would later evolve into commodores first and second class. In 1734 the title of commodore was formally approved by an
order in council
.
[1]
They were formally separated into first class (those with subordinate line captains) and second class (those commanding ships themselves) in 1826. The previous broad red and blue pennants were abolished in 1864 along with the coloured squadrons, the commodore of the white's broad pennant with the Cross of St George remained as the
command flag
for commodores first class, who wore the same sleeve lace as
rear admirals
. The white broad pennant with a red ball was introduced as the command flag for commodores second class. The appointment of commodore first class has been in
abeyance
since 1958, leaving the pennant with a single red ball to cover all Royal Navy commodores.
Modern commodores wear the sleeve lace previously worn by commodores second class. Commodore has only been a substantive rank in the Royal Navy since 1997. Before then it continued to be an appointment conferred on senior captains holding certain positions.
[2]
For example, the senior commander of
destroyers
within a fleet in the Royal Navy could carry the title of "Commodore (D)", while the fleet's senior commander of
submarines
could carry the title of "Commodore (S)", although in both cases as an appointment rather than a rank. During World War I the title of "Commodore (T)" was the officer who commanded
torpedo boat
flotillas.
[3]
[4]
Promotion path
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]
From 1570 to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into
coloured squadrons
which determined an officer's
career path
.
[5]
Rank insignia and personal flag
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]
-
Commodore's command flag
-
Commodore's sleeve lace
A modern commodore's rank insignia consists of a 45-millimetre-wide band of gold lace, with a circle of 13-millimetre-wide lace 45 millimetres in diameter above.
[6]
Former command flags
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]
See also
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
Perrin, W. G. (William Gordon) (1922). "IV:Flags of Command: Pendants of Command, Commodores".
British flags, their early history, and their development at sea; with an account of the origin of the flag as a national device
. Cambridge, England: Cambridge : The University Press. p.
102
.
- ^
Debrett's
Archived
2012-07-29 at
archive.today
- ^
Grimes, Shawn.
"War planning and strategic development in the Royal Navy, 1887?1918"
(PDF)
.
kclpure.kcl.ac.uk
. London, England: Kings College, University of London. p. abbreviations v
. Retrieved
15 October
2018
.
- ^
Mace, Martin (2014).
The Royal Navy and the War at Sea 1914?1919
. Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword. p. 1.
ISBN
9781473846562
.
- ^
Perrin, W. G. (William Gordon) (1922). "IV:Flags of Command".
British flags, their early history, and their development at sea; with an account of the origin of the flag as a national device
. Cambridge, England: Cambridge : The University Press. pp.
73
?109.
- ^
royalnavy.mod.uk
Archived copy
at
WebCite
(February 2, 2011).
Sources
[
edit
]
- Perrin, W. G. (William Gordon) (1922). "IV:Flags of Command". British flags, their early history, and their development at sea; with an account of the origin of the flag as a national device. Cambridge, England: Cambridge : The University Press.
External links
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]