Captain (Royal Navy)
| Captain | |
|---|---|
 A Royal Navy captain's rank insignia | |
 A Royal Navy captain's rank insignia (left, with a lieutenant at right) during divisions conducted at HMNB Clyde in January 2013 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Service branch |  Royal Navy |
| Abbreviation | Capt |
| NATO rank code | OF-5 |
| Next higher rank | Commodore |
| Next lower rank | Commander |
| Equivalent ranks | |
Captain (Capt.) is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above commander and below commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a colonel in the British Army and Royal Marines, and to a group captain in the Royal Air Force. There are similarly named equivalent ranks in the navies of many other countries.
Seagoing captains
[edit | edit source]In the Royal Navy, the officer in command of any warship of the rank of commander and below is informally referred to as "the captain" on board, even though holding a junior rank, but formally is titled "the commanding officer" (or CO). Until the nineteenth century Royal Navy officers who were captains by rank and in command of a naval vessel were referred to as post-captains.
Captain (D) or Captain Destroyers, afloat, was an operational appointment commanding a destroyer flotilla or squadron, and there was a corresponding administrative appointment ashore,[1] until at least a decade after the Second World War. The title was probably used informally until the abolition of frigate and destroyer squadrons with the Fleet FIRST reorganisation circa 2001.
Terminology
[edit | edit source]Ashore, the rank of captain is often verbally described as "captain RN" to distinguish it from the more junior Army and Royal Marines rank, and in naval contexts, as a "four-ring captain" (referring to the uniform lace) to avoid confusion with the title of a seagoing commanding officer. In the Ministry of Defence, and in joint service establishments, a captain may be referred to as a "DACOS" (standing for deputy assistant chief of staff) or an "AH" (assistant head), from the usual job title of OF5-ranked individuals who work with civil servants.
Insignia and uniform
[edit | edit source]The rank insignia features four rings of gold braid with an executive curl in the upper ring.[2]
When in mess dress or mess undress, officers of the rank of captain and above wear gold-laced trousers (the trousers are known as "tin trousers", and the gold lace stripes thereon are nicknamed "lightning conductors"), and may wear the undress tailcoat (without epaulettes).[3]
See also
[edit | edit source]- British and U.S. military ranks compared
- Captain (United States O-6)
- Comparative military ranks
- Royal Navy officer rank insignia
References
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