These are the official Royal Navy Officer ranks ordered by rank. These ranks are now part of the NATO/United Kingdom ranks, including modern and past. __TOC__
See also: Royal Navy ranks, rates, and uniforms of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Uniforms for naval officers were not authorised until 1748. At first the cut and style of the uniform differed considerably between ranks, and specific rank insignia were only sporadically used. By the 1790s, the Royal Navy's first established uniform regulations had been published.
Ranks could be indicated by embroidery on the cuffs, by arrangement of buttons or, after 1795, on epaulettes. See the link under title for this section.
Midshipmen received a white patch on the collar in 1758, the oldest badge still in use today.
As the Royal Navy's ships became more and more based on steam power, and the grease and work necessary to maintain those systems, expensive gold bullion epaulets that dirtied easily became more and more impractical for daily duty. The modern system of gold rings on the cuffs originated on 11 April 1856. It had its antecedents in the previous uniforms of the 18th and 19th century, esp. those of 1827-1833. For the first time these were applied to all blue uniforms. Also, for the first time, the Executive curl made its definitive appearance in the regulations.
| Admiral of the fleet | in below four in | |
| Admiral | in below three in | |
| Vice admiral | in below two in | |
| Rear admiral and Commodore 1st class | in below one in | |
| Commodore 2nd class | four in | |
| Captain | three in | |
| Commander | two in | |
| Lieutenant | one in | |
| one in braid |
On 16 April 1861, mates were commissioned as sub-lieutenants and lieutenants were divided into those of over eight years seniority and those under. As a result, on 5 September 1861 the lower ranks' rings were changed:
| Commodore 2nd class | in | |
| Captain | four in | |
| Commander | three in | |
| Lieutenant, over 8 years | two in | |
| Lieutenant, under 8 years | one in |
and on 25 March 1863 to:
| Commodore 2nd class | in | |
| Captain | four in | |
| Commander | three in | |
| Lieutenant | two in | |
| Sub-lieutenant | one in |
On 30 October 1877, a lieutenant of eight years'/ seniority got an additional half-ring of in, increased to in in 1891, and in 1914 became the new rank of lieutenant commander.
In 1919, the admiral's narrow stripe was reduced to in, but as King George V had not approved the change, the Royal Family continued to wear the wider ring.
In 1931, all the in rings were all increased to in.
The curl was introduced in 1856, but initially only the military (or executive) and navigating (masters) branches wore it.
Other (civil) branches had plain rings, from 1863 with coloured distinction cloth between or below them. Until 1891 officers of the 'civil' branches had single-breasted coats with different arrangements of buttons.
| Branch | Distinction cloth (1863–1955) | Buttons (1832–1891) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters (until 1867) | Light blue | 9 evenly spaced | |
| Masters (after 1867) | None | 3 groups of 3 (on double breasted coat) | |
| Surgeons | Red | 3 groups of 3 | |
| Pursers/accounting | White | 4 groups of 2 | |
| Engineering (from 1853) | Purple | 2 groups of 4 | |
| Instructors (from 1879) & schoolmasters (from 1917) | Light blue | 9 evenly spaced | |
| Shipwrights (from 1918) | Silver grey | ||
| Wardmaster (medical assistants) (from 1918) | Maroon till 1951, then salmon-pink | ||
| Electrical (from 1918) | Dark green | ||
| Ordnance (1918–1950) | Dark blue | ||
| Dentists (from 1924) | Orange |
In 1955 it was announced that the distinction cloth worn between the stripes of officers of the non-executive branches of the Royal Navy was to be abolished, except for those who must be clearly recognisable as non-combatant under the Geneva Convention.
The residual use of distinction cloth for non-combatants is therefore:
From 1955 to 1993 there was a rank of acting sub-lieutenant, with the same rank insignia as a sub-lieutenant.
Naval pilots in the Fleet Air Arm (and earlier the Royal Naval Air Service) have wings above the curl on the left hand sleeve. Other Fleet Air Arm officers had a letter 'A' inside the curl.
From 1795 rank badges could also be shown on epaulettes. The system changed several times, but after 1864 was as follows:
| Admiral of the fleet | Crown, crossed batons, and four stars | |
| Admiral | Crown, crossed baton & sword, and three stars | |
| Vice admiral | Crown, crossed baton & sword, and two stars | |
| Rear admiral | Crown, crossed baton & sword, and one (larger) star | |
| Commodore & captain over three years | Crown, two stars, and foul anchor | |
| Captain under 3 years | Crown, one star, and foul anchor | |
| Commander | Crown and foul anchor | |
| Lieutenant over eight years after 1914 Lieutenant commander | Star and foul anchor | |
| Lieutenant under 8 years | Foul anchor |
In 2001, the shoulder boards on dress uniforms were changed to match the NATO system of stars for Flag Officers and are currently:
| Admiral of the fleet | Crown, 2 crossed batons within a wreath | |
| Admiral | Crown, crossed baton & sword and 4 stars | |
| Vice admiral | Crown, crossed baton & sword and 3 stars | |
| Rear admiral | Crown, crossed baton & sword and 2 stars | |
| Commodore | Crown, crossed baton & sword and 1 star | |
| Captain | Crown, one star, and foul anchor | |
| Commander | Crown and foul anchor |
Warrant officers first received their uniforms in 1787. The navigators, surgeons and pursers were commissioned in 1843 and their insignia are described above.
In 1865 chief (later commissioned) gunners, boatswains, and carpenters were given a single in ring, with the curl, though the carpenters lost the curl in 1879.
In 1891 ordinary warrant officers of 10 years' standing were given a half-ring of in, with or without curl as above.
In 1918 this ring, with the curl, was extended to all non-commissioned warrant officers.
In 1949 WOs and CWOs became "commissioned branch officers" and "senior commissioned branch officers" and were admitted to the wardroom, but their insignia remained the same.
In 1956 they were integrated into the line officers as sub-lieutenants and lieutenants, and class distinctions finally disappeared from the uniform.
From 1863 officers were commissioned in the Royal Naval Reserve this was for serving merchant navy officers only. They had rings each formed from two inch wavy lines intersecting each other. The curl was formed into a six-pointed star. The lieutenant commander's half-ring was straight, but only inch wide. The commodore had a broad straight ring, but the same star for a curl. Midshipmen had a blue collar patch.
Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (formed 1903) for civilians, had single wavy rings inch wide, with the curl a squarish shape. The lieutenant commander's narrow ring was originally straight, but after 1942 was waved also. This system of rank insignia is still worn today by officers in the Volunteer Cadet Corps and Sea Cadets. Midshipmen in the RNVR had a maroon collar patch.
In 1951 both reserves lost their distinctive insignia and got normal straight stripes like the regulars, but with a letter 'R' inside the curl. The two organisations were merged in 1958. In 2007 officers of the Royal Naval Reserve had the 'R' distinction from badges of rank removed. Honorary officers in the RNR however continue to wear the 'R' inside the curl.
Officers in the Women's Royal Naval Service had straight rings in light blue, with a diamond shape instead of the curl. The Women's Royal Naval Service was abolished in 1994 and female officers now have the same gold rings as male officers.
Part of the RN as the Senior Service, the Royal Marines uses the same rank structure and insignia that the British Army has, save for the field marshal rank, and the RM initials for second lieutenants to lieutenant colonels to distinguish them from the Army itself. The major general rank since 1996 is the highest rank of the officer corps, but in the past, generals and lieutenant generals headed the Corps, and from 1857 to 1957 the Corps also had the unique ranks of colonel second commandant and colonel commandant. Rank insignia are on brown or dark blue shoulder boards in all dresses save for the combat and barracks duty dress uniforms. From 1911 to 1957 the officer corps even included warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers in the same way as the RN. Although the Royal Marines does not officially use the rank of field marshal, the Captain General Royal Marines, the ceremonial head of the corps, wears a field marshal's rank insignia.[3]
Historical ranks in italic.