Captain (Royal Navy)

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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.

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.
CountryUnited Kingdom
Service branch Royal Navy
AbbreviationCapt
NATO rank codeOF-5
Next higher rankCommodore
Next lower rankCommander
Equivalent ranks

Seagoing captains

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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; this practice is now defunct.

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 up until the abolition of frigate and destroyer squadrons with the Fleet FIRST reorganisation circa 2001.

Terminology

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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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ Whitby, Michael (2011). Commanding Canadians: The Second World War Diaries of A.F.C. Layard. Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press. p. Abbrev: XV. ISBN 9780774840378.
  2. ^ "Uniforms and Badges of Rank at Royal Navy website". Archived from the original on 2 August 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  3. ^ "Naval Book of Reference, Annex 39A: RN Dress Tables" (PDF). Royal Navy. October 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.