Rear admiral (Royal Navy)

Not to be confused with Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom.

Please see “rear admiral” for other nations which use this rank.

Rear admiral (RAdm) is a flag officer rank of the British Royal Navy. It is immediately superior to commodore and is subordinate to vice admiral. It is a two-star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7.

The rank originated in the days of naval sailing squadrons and each naval squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head. He would command from the centre vessel and direct the activities of the squadron. The admiral would in turn be assisted by a vice admiral, who commanded the lead ships which would bear the brunt of a naval battle. In the rear of the naval squadron, a third admiral would command the remaining ships and, as this section of the squadron was considered to be in the least danger, the admiral in command of the rear would typically be the most junior of the squadron admirals. This has survived into the modern age, with the rank of rear admiral the most-junior of the admiralty ranks of many navies.

The Royal Navy rank of rear admiral should be distinguished from the office of Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom, which is an Admiralty position usually held by a senior (and possibly retired) "full" admiral.

Rank insignia and personal flag

Royal Navy rear admiral sleeve insignia
Royal Navy rear admiral shoulder board
Royal Navy rear admiral command flag
Royal Navy rear admiral shoulder board prior to 2001^[1]
World War II Royal Navy rear admiral's steel helmet with two-star insignia

References

↑ Refer UK DCI (Joint Service) 125/2001

Commissioned officer ranks of the British Armed Forces
NATO rank code	Student officer	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6 *	OF-7 **	OF-8 ***	OF-9 ****	OF-10 *****
Royal Navy	O Cdt	Mid	SLt	Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm (list)	VAdm (list)	Adm (list)	Adm of the Fleet
Royal Marines		2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj-Gen	Lt-Gen	Gen (list)
Army	O Cdt	2Lt	Lt	Capt	Maj	Lt Col	Col	Brig	Maj-Gen (list)	Lt-Gen (list)	Gen (list)	FM
Royal Air Force	Off Cdt / SO	APO / Plt Off	Fg Off	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	Air Cdre	AVM	Air Mshl	Air Chf Mshl (list)	MRAF

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