Commander (Cdr) ( sv, Kommendörkapten, Kk) is a senior-grade officer rank in the

Swedish Navy The Swedish Navy ( sv, Svenska marinen) is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet () – as well as marine units, the Amphibious Corps (). In Swedish, vessels o ...

, ranking below

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and above

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

. The rank is equivalent to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

, Swedish Air Force and the Swedish Amphibious Corps. Before 1972, the rank of commander was divided into two ranks: commander (''kommendörkapten av 1:a graden/klassen'') and lieutenant commander (''kommendörkapten av 2:a graden/klassen'').

History

Commanders of the

were divided into two ranks: commander (''kommendörkapten av 1:a klass'', ) and lieutenant commander (''kommendörkapten av 2:a klassen'', ). The first rank corresponded to a

and the second to a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the

. From 1771 the whole rank was called lieutenant colonel also in the navy, but from 1824 lieutenant commander (''kommendörkapten av 2:a klassen''). In 1845 the division of classes disappeared, and the rank became only commander until 1866, when the rank was again divided into two classes. Thereafter, the ''klass'' () has been replaced by the ''grad'' (). The service for both ranks is the same in the Swedish Navy. Historically, a commander serves on board as commander of larger vessels and as department chief, division commander (destroyer division), flotilla commander and as

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

. On land he served as head of department in the

Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration The Royal Swedish Naval Materiel Administration ( sv, Kungliga Marinförvaltningen, KMF) was the central board of the Swedish Navy in technical and economic terms. It was active between the years 1878 and 1968 when it was disbanded and amalgamated ...

and in the Naval Staff, as corps commander, head of the

Royal Swedish Naval Staff College The Royal Swedish Naval Staff College ( sv, Kungliga Sjökrigshögskolan, KSHS) was a Swedish Navy training establishment between 1898 and 1961, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Swedish Navy's staff college, which prov ...

, the

Royal Swedish Naval Academy The Royal Swedish Naval Academy ( sv, Kungliga Sjökrigsskolan, KSS) was a school for officer training for the Swedish Navy, which operated in various forms between the years 1756 and 1987. History 1683–1791 In 1683, when the charter was issue ...

, exercise and non-commissioned officer schools and the shipyard, chief of staff, conscript commander, adjutant to a station commander etc. According to the state for 1911 there were 17 ''kommendörkapten av 1:a graden'' and 18 of the ''kommendörkapten av 2:a graden''. In 1972, the division of the 1st and 2nd rank ceased and the two ranks became just commander. Since 1972, a lieutenant commander is a ''

örlogskapten Lieutenant commander (LtCdr) ( sv, Örlogskapten, Örlkn) is a mid-ranking officer rank in the Swedish Navy. Lieutenant commanders rank above lieutenants and below commanders, and rank is equivalent to a major in the Swedish Army, Swedish Air ...

'' in the Swedish Navy. On 1 July 2003, the Swedish Navy received new rank insignias. The new rank insignia system was inspired from

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. The idea was that the British system was more internationally viable and thus would facilitate contact between officers. However, this drew some criticism as a commander with four galloons now got three galloons, which in the old rank insignia system was the rank insignia for

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Promotion

Promotion of the

to commander may take place when the lieutenant commander has completed the applicable promotion training with approved results. Promotion to positions higher than commander may take place after placement for the time being in a position at a higher position level than that which corresponds to the individual's current rank. Responsible head of promotion to commander is the Director of Human Resource at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters or the commander of the Special Forces Command.

Uniform

Shoulder mark

The top

galloon Galloon (sometimes spelled galon in British English) is a heavily-decorated woven or braided trim, typically made of, or featuring, gold or silver thread, which may be woven or embroidered. Galloon trim is used in the trim of military and polic ...

is shaped like a "loop" for an officer in the

(the loop is shaped like a "grenade" for an officer in the Swedish Amphibious Corps). The rank insignia is worn on the shoulder mark to jacket and coat (''jacka m/87'', ''kappa m/87''), as well as to blue wool sweater (''blå ylletröja m/87''), trench coat (''trenchcoat m/84''), sea coat (''sjörock 93'', black raincoat and to white shirt (''vit skjorta m/78''). Rank insignia on shoulder mark (''axelklaffshylsa 02B'') is worn on all garments with shoulder straps. 1. The shoulder mark (''Axelklaffshylsa m/02B'') is designed as galloons sewn directly to another shoulder mark (''axelklaffshylsa m/87 blå''). Since 2003 it consists of three gold galloons. Before 2003, this type of shoulder mark with three galloons was worn by a

. 2. Before 2003, commanders wore four gold galloons. Since 2003, this shoulder mark is used by a

. 3. The wowen shoulder mark (''AXELKLAFFSHYLSA M/02 INVÄVD KOMMENDÖR FLOTTAN'') is worn on the naval combat dress (''sjöstridsdräkt m/93''), duty uniform (''arbetsdräkt m/87 (blå)'') and

combat uniform A combat uniform, also called field uniform, battledress or military fatigues, is a casual type of uniform used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for everyday fieldwork and combat duty purposes, as opposed to dress ...

(''Fältuniform m/90 lätt'', ''m/90 lätt blå'', ''m/90 tropik'' (green, beige and blue)). File:OF-4 Kommendörkapten FL hylsa.jpg, 1. Embroidered

shoulder mark A shoulder mark, also called rank slide, or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia. A shoulder mark should not be confused with a ''shoulder board'' (which is an elaborate sh ...

(2003–present) File:OF-5 Kommendör FL hylsa.jpg, 2. Embroidered

(–2003) File:OF-4 Kommendörkapten FL.jpg, 3. Wowen

(2003–present) File:OF-4 Kommendörkapten FL hylsa02.jpg, 3. Wowen

(2003–present)

Sleeve insignia

Rank insignia is worn on both sleeves for inner

suit jacket A suit jacket, also called a lounge jacket, lounge coat or suit coat, is a jacket in classic menswear that is part of a suit. Single and double-breasted Most single-breasted suit jackets have two or three buttons, and one or four buttons are unu ...

(''innerkavaj m/48'') and

mess jacket The mess jacket is a type of formal jacket that ends at the waist. It features either a non-fastening double breast cut or a single-breasted version that fastens.

(''mässjacka m/1878''). 1. On the sleeve an 12,6 mm rank insignia (''gradbeteckning m/02'') and galloon (''galon m/02''). The distance between galloons should be 6 mm. The distance from the bottom edge of the sleeve to the bottom edge of the top galloon should be 100 mm. This type of sleeve insignia with three galloons was worn by a

until 2003. 2. Before 2003, commanders wore four gold galloons and a loop of gold galloon. Since 2003, this type of sleeve insignia is used by a

. File:OF-4 Kommendörkapten FL arm.jpg, 1. Sleeve insignia for a commander (2003–present) File:OF-5_Kommendör_FL_arm.jpg, 2. Sleeve insignia for a commander (–2003)

Hats

Peaked cap

A commander wears embellishments (''skärmbeteckning m/02/skärmbroderi m/02'') on the visor of the

peaked cap The peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It ...

(''skärmmössa m/48''). It also fitted with a hat badge (''mössmärke m/78 off för flottan'') and with a strap in form of a golden braid (''mössträns m/42''). File:Jan Dunmurray.jpg, Peaked cap worn by Commander Jan Dunmurray. File:Mössmärke m78 FL Officer.png, Hat badge

Side cap and winter hat

An officer wears a hat badge (''mössmärke m/78 off'') for the navy and another (''mössmärke m/87 off'') for amphibious units on the side cap (''båtmössa m/48'') and on the winter hat (''vintermössa m/87'').

Epaulette

A commander wears

epaulette Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales' ...

's (''epålett m/1878'') to

white tie White tie, also called full evening dress or a dress suit, is the most formal in traditional evening western dress codes. For men, it consists of a black tail coat (alternatively referred to as a dress coat, usually by tailors) worn over a whit ...

(''frack m/1878'') and to coat (''rock m/1878''). On the epaulette, a commander wears 4 mm

fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

s in two rows.

Personal flags

The command flag of a commander (and for a

, lieutenant commander and

), is the so-called Navy Pennant (''Örlogsvimpel''), which is a long swallowtailed pennant per fess blue and yellow. The Navy Pennant is carried on the Swedish Navy ships from or on which naval officer of a lower rank than

exercises his command, or on which he travels in the service. File:Naval Rank Flag of Sweden - Örlogsvimpel.svg, Navy Pennant

Footnotes

References

Notes

Print

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Web

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kommendörkapten Military ranks of the Swedish Navy sv:Kommendörkapten