| Naval officer ranks |
| Flag officers: |
|---|
|
Admiral of the fleet • Fleet admiral • Grand admiral |
| Senior officers: |
|
Captain • Capt at sea • Capt of sea and war • Ship-of-the-line Capt |
| Junior officers: |
|
Captain lieutenant • Lieutenant • Ship-of-the-line lieutenant |
Counter admiral is a rank found in many navies of the world, but no longer used in English-speaking countries, where the equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French contre-amiral, meaning "secondary admiral".[1]
In modern navies that use it, rear (counter) admiral is generally, although not always, the lowest flag officer rank (in the German Navy, for instance, Flottillenadmiral ranks below Konteradmiral; in the Royal Canadian Navy, contre-amiral/rear admiral ranks above commodore).
Portugal and Brazil[]
In the navies of Portugal and Brazil, the rank of contra-almirante is the lowest of the permanent flag officer ranks. In the Portuguese Navy there is a flag officer rank below that of contra-almirante, the rank of comodoro (commodore), but this is only a provisional appointment, assigned to some captains.
Until the end of the 19th century, the present rank of contra-almirante was named chefe de esquadra (chief of squadron), both in the Portuguese and the Brazilian navies.
References[]
- ↑ Oxford English Dictionary. counter-admiral, n. Second edition, 1989; online version June 2011. <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/42655>; accessed 22 June 2011.
The original article can be found at Counter admiral and the edit history here.