Naval officer ranks

Navies have military rank systems that often are quite different from those of armies or air forces. Sometimes, services that are considered parts of the navy – marine or amphibious corps – use the army-style ranks instead, while the ranks listed here are reserved for fleets.

NATO rank codes

To assist in the comparison of ranks in the armed forces of different countries, established NATO rank codes are used [1]. These are established codes for determining the seniority of officer and other ranks in NATO countries for a particular joint task group or command structure, although specific appointments designate a higher level of seniority over other equivalent rank codes in a given situation. Officer ranks go from OF-1 (applying to all subaltern officers below (army) captain) up to OF-10; OF(D) being a special category for trainee officers awaiting a commission. Other ranks (those considered enlisted men in the United States forces) are classified from OR-1 to OR-9. Warrant officers in the United States forces are a special case as single track career specialists between the enlisted and officer ranks in terms of seniority, and have no NATO rank code. The system should not be confused with the pay grades used in the US military.

While countries outside the NATO command structure (including some NATO member countries such as France) do not strictly fall into this classification structure and there may be incidences of overlap (particularly in ranks between countries) the codes still provide a useful gauge in determining what ranks are broadly equivalent.

Flag officers

These are the highest ranks. Promotion to a rank above OF-9 is now rare and usually reserved for wartime. Fleet admiral is an example of such a rank.

Note that there is doubt about rank equivalence in countries that have fleet admirals but no commodores, such as the former German Empire and Russia - often it is considered that in these countries a fleet admiral equates to an OF-9 rank, an admiral to OF-8, a vice admiral to OF-7, and a rear admiral to OF-6 (i.e. the ranks all move down one grade).

The Royal New Zealand Navy ranks of admiral and vice-admiral are generally only used in times of war.

Country	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6
Albania		Admiral	Nënadmiral	Kundëradmiral
Argentina		Almirante	Vicealmirante	Contraalmirante	Comodoro de Marina
Australia	Admiral of the fleet	Admiral	Vice admiral	Rear admiral	Commodore
Belgium		Admiraal (in Dutch) amiral (in French)	Vice-admiraal (in Dutch) vice-amiral (in French)	Divisieadmiraal (in Dutch) amiral de division (in French)	Flottieljeadmiraal (in Dutch) amiral de flottille (in French)
Brazil	Almirante	Almirante-de-esquadra	Vice-almirante	Contra-almirante
Bulgaria	Admiral na flota	Admiral	Viceadmiral	Kontraadmiral	Komodor
Canada		Admiral (in English) Amiral (in French)	Vice-admiral (in English) Vice-Amiral (in French)	Rear-admiral (in English) Contre-Amiral (in French)	Commodore (in English) Commodore (in French)
Chile		Almirante	Vicealmirante	Contralmirante	Comodoro
China		Shang jiang （上將）	Zhong jiang （中將）	Shao jiang （少將）	Da xiao （大校）
Croatia	Admiral flote	Admiral	Viceadmiral	Kontraadmiral	Komodor
Denmark		Admiral	Viceadmiral	Kontreadmiral	Flottilleadmiral
Finland		Amiraali (in Finnish) Amiral (in Swedish)	Vara-amiraali (in Finnish) Viceamiral (in Swedish)	Kontra-amiraali (in Finnish) Konteramiral (in Swedish)	Lippueamiraali (in Finnish) Flottiljamiral (in Swedish) (literally: Flotilla admiral)
France	Amiral de France	Amiral	Vice-amiral d'escadre	Vice-amiral	Contre-amiral
Germany		Admiral	Vizeadmiral	Konteradmiral	Flottillenadmiral
Germany (1935-1945)	Großadmiral	Generaladmiral	Admiral	Vizeadmiral	Konteradmiral
Germany (1871-1918)	Großadmiral		Admiral	Vizeadmiral	Konteradmiral
Greece	Αρχιναύαρχος (archinavarchos)	Ναύαρχος (navarchos)	Αντιναύαρχος (antinavarchos)	Υποναύαρχος (hyponavarchos)	Αρχιπλοίαρχος (archiploiarchos)
Indonesia	Laksamana besar (literally: Grand admiral)	Laksamana	Laksamana madya	Laksamana muda	Laksamana pertama
Israel			Rav-aluf	Aluf	Tat-aluf
Italy	Ammiraglio	Ammiraglio di squadra con incarichi speciali	Ammiraglio di squadra Ammiraglio ispettore capo	Ammiraglio di divisione ammiraglio ispettore	contrammiraglio
Imperial Japanese Navy	Gensui kaigun taisho(元帥海軍大将)	Kaigun taisho(海軍大将)	Kaigun chujo(海軍中将)	Kaigun shosho(海軍少将)
Japan Maritime Self Defense Force		Kaijō-bakuryōchō海上幕僚長	Kaishō海将	Kaishō-ho海将補
Latvia		Admirālis	Viceadmirālis	Kontradmirālis	Flotiles admirālis
Malaysia	Laksamana armada (literally: Admiral of the fleet)	Laksamana	Laksamana madya	Laksamana muda	Laksamana pertama
Mexico	Comandante Supremo de las Fuerzas Armadas	Almirante Secretario de Marina	Almirante	Vicealmirante	Contralmirante
Netherlands	Admiraal	Luitenant-admiraal	Vice-admiraal	Schout-bij-nacht	Commandeur
New Zealand	Admiral of the fleet	Admiral	Vice admiral	Rear admiral	Commodore
Nigeria	Admiral of the fleet	Admiral	Vice-admiral	Rear-admiral	Commodore
Norway		Admiral	Viseadmiral	Kontreadmiral	Flaggkommandør
Philippines	Pangkaragatang admiral	Admiral	Vice admiral	Rear admiral	Commodore
Poland		Admirał Admirał floty	Wiceadmirał	Kontradmirał
Portugal	Almirante da armada	Almirante	Vice-almirante	Contra-almirante	Comodoro
Romania		Amiral	Viceamiral	Contraamiral	Contraamiral de flotilă
Russia	Адмирал флота (admiral of the fleet)	Адмирал (admiral)	Вице-адмирал (vice admiral)	Контр-адмирал (rear admiral)	-
Singapore			Vice admiral	Rear admiral (two stars)	Rear admiral (one star)
South Africa		Admiral Admiraal (in Afrikaans)	Vice admiral Vise-admiraal (in Afrikaans)	Rear admiral Skout-admiraal (in Afrikaans)	Rear admiral (junior grade) Skout-admiraal (JR) (in Afrikaans)
Soviet Union	Адмирал флота Советского Союза (admiral of the fleet of the Soviet Union) Адмирал флота (fleet admiral)	Адмирал (admiral)	Вице-адмирал (vice admiral)	Контр-адмирал (rear admiral)	-
Spain	Capitán general	Almirante general	Almirante	Vicealmirante	Contraalmirante
Sweden	-	Amiral	Viceamiral	Konteramiral	Flottiljamiral (literally: Flotilla admiral)
Thailand	Chom phon ruea (admiral of the fleet)	Phon ruea ek (Admiral)	Phon ruea tho (Vice admiral)	Phon ruea tri (Rear admiral)	Nawa ek phiset (Special captain)
Turkey	Büyük amiral	Deniz kuvvetleri komutanı Oramiral	Koramiral	Tümamiral	Tuğamiral
United Kingdom	Admiral of the fleet	Admiral	Vice-admiral	Rear-admiral	Commodore (not actually a flag officer)
United States	Admiral of the NavyA Fleet admiral	Admiral	Vice admiral	Rear admiral (upper half)	Rear admiral (lower half)
Ukraine		Admiral	Vice-admiral	Kontr-admiral
Country	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6

Note

^AAdmiral of the Navy has only been created once during the history of the US Navy. It is considered superior to Fleet Admiral, but does not have a NATO rank code

Other officers

In most navies, captain is the common address to commanding officers of a naval ship, regardless of their actual rank. As a rank, naval ranks of captain are almost always senior to army captains. Exceptions are the Polish Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy, where "captain" refers to the same rank in the navy as in the army. In many navies, the concepts of army captain and ship's lieutenant are merged into the rank of "captain-lieutenant". Examples of this are Germany, Russia, Portugal, Denmark and Norway.

Common rank titles used are:

• OF-1(junior): Midshipman, acting sub-lieutenant, ensign, corvette lieutenant, ship-of-the-line ensign 2nd class.
• OF-1(senior): Sub-lieutenant, lieutenant (junior grade), frigate lieutenant, ship-of-the-line ensign 1st class.
• OF-2: Lieutenant, lieutenant (senior grade) ship-of-the-line lieutenant, captain-lieutenant.
• OF-3: Lieutenant-commander, corvette captain.
• OF-4: Commander, frigate captain.
• OF-5: Captain, ship-of-the-line captain, captain of sea and war.

Many naval rank systems ultimately derive from either British, French or Spanish naval usage.

Generally speaking, naval ranks systems derived from French and Spanish usage use the names of different classes of ship (corvette, frigate, ship-of-the-line) in their rank titles. This is also the case in some other navies, e.g. two German naval ranks, those of "corvette captain" and "frigate captain".

Naval rank systems derived from British usage use the rank "captain" exclusively for the highest rank of ship's captain (i.e. of the largest class of ship) and use the rank "lieutenant" exclusively for the highest rank of ship's lieutenant (i.e. of the largest class of ship). In such navies, the captains and lieutenants of smaller ships are therefore unlikely to have the naval rank of "captain" or "lieutenant" respectively; and furthermore a naval "captain" is therefore equivalent to an army colonel, and a naval "lieutenant" to an army captain.

Country	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1
Albania	Kapitan i rangut të parë	Kapitan i rangut të dytë	Kapitan i rangut te tretë	Kapitan lejtnant	Lejtnant	Nënlejtnant
Argentina	Capitán de navío	Capitán de fragata	Capitán de corbeta	Teniente de navío	Teniente de fragata	Teniente de corbeta	Guardiamarina
Australia	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant commander	Lieutenant	Sub lieutenant	Acting sub lieutenant	Midshipman
Austro-Hungarian Empire	Linienschiffskapitän	Fregattenkapitän	Korvettenkapitän	Linienschiffsleutnant	Fregattenleutnant	Korvettenleutnant
Belgium	Kapitein-ter-zee Capitaine de vaisseau	Fregatkapitein Capitaine de frégate	Korvetkapitein Capitaine de corvette Luitenant-ter-zee 1ste klasse Lieutenant de vaisseau 1ère classe	Luitenant-ter-zee Lieutenant de vaisseau	Vaandrig-ter-zee Enseigne de vaisseau	Vaandrig-ter-zee 2de klasse Enseigne de vaisseau de 2ème classe
Brazil	Capitão-de-mar-e-guerra	Capitão-de-fragata	Capitão-de-corveta	Capitão-tenente	Primeiro-tenente	Segundo-tenente	Guarda-marinha
Bulgaria	Kapitan parvi rang	Kapitan vtori rang	Kapitan treti rang	Kapitan-leytenant	Starshi leytenant	Leytenant	Mladshi leytenant
Canada	Captain Capitaine de vaisseau	Commander Capitaine de frégate	Lieutenant-Commander Capitaine de corvette	Lieutenant Lieutenant de vaisseau	Sub-Lieutenant Enseigne de vaisseau de 1ère classe	Acting Sub-Lieutenant Enseigne de vaisseau de 2ème classe	Naval Cadet Aspirant de marine
Chile	Capitan de navio	Capitan de fragata	Capitan de corbeta	Teniente primero	Teniente segundo	Subteniente	Guardiamarina
China	Shang xiao （上校）	Zhong xiao （中校）	Shao xiao （少校）	Shang wei （上尉）	Zhong wei （中尉）	Shao wei （少尉）	Xue yuan （學員）
Croatia	Kapetan bojnog broda	Kapetan fregate	Kapetan korvete	Poručnik bojnog broda	Poručnik fregate	Poručnik korvete
Denmark	Kommandør	Kommandør-kaptajn	Orlogskaptajn	Kaptajnløjtnant	Premierløjtnant	Løjtnant
Finland	Kommodori Kommodor	Komentaja Kommendör	Komentajakapteeni Kommendörkapten	Kapteeniluutnantti Kaptenlöjtnant Yliluutnantti Premiärlöjtnant	Luutnantti Löjtnant	Aliluutnantti Underlöjtnant
France	Capitaine de vaisseau	Capitaine de frégate	Capitaine de corvette	Lieutenant de vaisseau	Enseigne de vaisseau de 1ère classe	Enseigne de vaisseau de 2ème classe	Aspirant
Germany	Kapitän zur See	Fregattenkapitän	Korvettenkapitän	Stabskapitänleutnant Kapitänleutnant	Oberleutnant zur See	Leutnant zur See
German Empire	Kapitän zur See	Fregattenkapitän	Korvettenkapitän	Kapitänleutnant	Oberleutnant zur See	Leutnant zur See
Greece	Πλοίαρχος ("ploiarchos")	Αντιπλοίαρχος ("antiploiarchos")	Πλωτάρχης ("plotarchis")	Υποπλοίαρχος ("hypoploiarchos")	Ανθυποπλοίαρχος ("anthypoploiarchos")	Σημαιοφόρος ("simeoforos")
Indonesia	Kolonel	Letnan kolonel	Mayor	Kapten	Letnan satu	Letnan dua
Israel	Aluf mishne	Sgan aluf	Rav seren	Seren	Segen	Segen mishne
Italy	Capitano di vascello	Capitano di fregata	Capitano di corvetta	Primo tenente di vascello, tenente di vascello	Sottotenente di vascello	Guardiamarina	Aspirante guardiamarina
Japan (Imperial Japanese Navy)	Daisa (大佐)	Chūsa (中佐)	Shōsa (少佐)	Taii (大尉)	Chūi (中尉)	Shōi (少尉)	Shōi-kouhosei (少尉候補生)
Japan Maritime Self Defense Force	Ittou-kaisa 一等海佐	Nitou-kaisa 二等海佐	Santou-kaisa 三等海佐	Ittou-kaii 一等海尉	Nitou-kaii 二等海尉	Santou-kaii 三等海尉
Latvia	Jūras kapteinis	Komandkapteinis	Komandleitnants	Kapteiņleitnants	Virsleitnants	Leitnants
Lithuania	Jūrų kapitonas	Komandoras	Komandoras leitenantas	Kapitonas leitenantas	Vyresnysis leitenantas	Leitenantas
Malaysia	Kepten	Komander	Leftenan komander	Leftenan	Leftenan madya	Leftenan muda	Pegawai kadet kanan
Mexico	Capitán de navío	Capitán de fragata	Capitán de corbeta	Teniente de navío	Teniente de fragata	Teniente de corbeta	Guardiamarina o 1er maestre
Netherlands	Kapitein ter zee	Kapitein-Luitenant ter zee	Luitenant ter zee der 1e klasse	Luitenant ter zee der 2e klasse oudste categorie	Luitenant ter zee der 2e klasse	Luitenant ter zee der 3e klasse	Adelborst
New Zealand	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant commander	Lieutenant	Sub lieutenant	Ensign	Midshipman
Nigeria	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant-commander	Lieutenant	Sub-lieutenant	Acting sub-lieutenant	Midshipman
Norway	Kommandør	Kommandørkaptein	Orlogskaptein	Kapteinløytnant	Løytnant	Fenrik	Kadett
Philippines	Commodore	Kapitan	Kumander	Lieutenant commander	Tenyente, senior grade	Tenyente, junior grade	Ensign
Poland	Komandor	Komandor porucznik	Komandor podporucznik	Kapitan marynarki	Porucznik marynarki	Podporucznik marynarki
Portugal	Capitão-de-mar-e-guerra	Capitão-de-fragata	Capitão-tenente	Primeiro-tenente	Segundo-tenente	Guarda-marinha/subtenente	Aspirante
Romania	Comandor	Căpitan-comandor	Locotenent-comandor	Căpitan	Locotenent	Aspirant
Russia	Kapitan pervogo ranga	Kapitan vtorogo ranga	Kapitan tret'yego ranga	Kapitan-leytenant	Starshiy leytenant	Leytenant	Mladshiy leytenant
Singapore	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	Lieutenant	Second lieutenant	Midshipman
South Africa	Captain Kaptein	Commander Kommandeur	Lieutenant commander Luitenant-kommandeur	Lieutenant Luitenant	Sub-lieutenant Onderluitenant	Ensign Vaandrig	Midshipman
Soviet Union	Капитан первого ранга (Kapitan pervogo ranga)	Капитан второго ранга (Kapitan vtorogo ranga)	Капитан третьего ранга (Kapitan tret'yego ranga)	Капитан-лейтенант (Kapitan-leytenant)	Старший лейтенант (Starshiy leytenant)	Лейтенант (Leytenant)	Младший лейтенант (Mladshiy leytenant)
Spain	Capitán de navío	Capitán de fragata	Capitán de corbeta	Teniente de navío	Alférez de navío	Alférez de fragata	Guardiamarina
Sweden	Kommendör 1. graden Kommendör	Kommendörkapten	Örlogskapten	Kapten	Löjtnant	Fänrik
Thailand	Nawa ek (captain)	Nawa tho (commander)	Nawa tri (lieutenant commander)	Ruea ek (lieutenant)	Ruea tho (lieutenant junior grade)	Ruea tri (sub-lieutenant)
Turkey	Albay	Yarbay	Binbaşı	Yüzbaşı	Üsteğmen	Teğmen	Asteğmen
United Kingdom	Commodore Captain	Commander	Lieutenant-commander	Lieutenant	Sub-lieutenant	Acting sub-lieutenant	Midshipman
United States	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant commander	Lieutenant	Lieutenant, junior grade	Ensign	Midshipman (USNA, ROTC, etc.)
Ukraine	Kapitan I ranhu	Kapitan II ranhu	Kapitan III ranhu	Kapitan-leitenant	Starshyi leitenant	Leitenant	Molodshyi leitenant
Country	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1

See also

• Air force officer ranks
• Army officer ranks
• Comparative military ranks
• Staff (military)