The rank originated in the 17th century, in the days of naval sailing squadrons when each naval squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head. The admiral 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.
Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined career path. The command flags flown by a rear-admiral changed a number of times during this period.[1]
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 flagedit
Royal Navy rear admiral sleeve insignia
Royal Navy rear admiral shoulder board
Royal Navy rear admiral command flag, 1864–present
Royal Navy rear admiral shoulder board prior to 2001[2]
World War II Royal Navy rear admiral's steel helmet with two-star insignia
^Perrin, W. G. (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 University Press. pp. 73–109.
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.
January 01, 1970
rear, admiral, royal, navy, confused, with, rear, admiral, united, kingdom, other, uses, rear, admiral, rear, admiral, rear, admiral, radm, flag, officer, rank, royal, navy, immediately, superior, commodore, subordinate, vice, admiral, star, rank, nato, rankin. Not to be confused with Rear Admiral of the United Kingdom For other uses of rear admiral see rear admiral Rear admiral RAdm is a flag officer rank of the 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 Rear admiralFlag of a rear admiral Royal NavyInsignia shoulder board and sleeve lace for rear admiralCountry United KingdomService branch Royal NavyAbbreviationRADM R AdmRankTwo starNATO rank codeOF 7Next higher rankVice admiralNext lower rankCommodoreEquivalent ranksMajor general Army Royal Marines Air vice marshal RAF The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is major general and in the Royal Air Force it is air vice marshal Contents 1 History 2 Rank insignia and personal flag 3 Former command flags 4 See also 5 References 5 1 SourcesHistory editThe rank originated in the 17th century in the days of naval sailing squadrons when each naval squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head The admiral 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 Prior to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into coloured squadrons which determined career path The command flags flown by a rear admiral changed a number of times during this period 1 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 edit nbsp Royal Navy rear admiral sleeve insignia nbsp Royal Navy rear admiral shoulder board nbsp Royal Navy rear admiral command flag 1864 present nbsp Royal Navy rear admiral shoulder board prior to 2001 2 nbsp World War II Royal Navy rear admiral s steel helmet with two star insigniaFormer command flags editMain article List of command flags of the Royal NavySee also edit nbsp United Kingdom portal British and U S military ranks compared Coloured squadrons of the Royal Navy Comparative military ranks Rear Admiral of the Blue Rear Admiral of the White Rear Admiral of the Red Royal Navy officer rank insignia List of Royal Navy rear admiralsReferences edit Perrin W G 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 University Press pp 73 109 Refer UK DCI Joint Service 125 2001 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rear admiral Royal Navy amp oldid 1206937160, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
