Rear admiral (RAdm) is a

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

rank of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

. It is immediately superior to

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

and is subordinate to vice admiral. It is a

two-star rank An officer of two-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-7. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, two-star officers hold the rank ...

and has a NATO ranking code of OF-7. The rank originated in the days of naval sailing squadrons and each naval squadron would be assigned an admiral as its head. He 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. List of Royal Navy rear admirals * Sir

Alexander Dundas Young Arbuthnott Admiral Sir Alexander Dundas Young Arbuthnott (bapt. 5 March 1789 – 8 May 1871) was a British Royal Navy officer of the Victorian era. Background Born in Forton, Hampshire, he was the son of Robert Arbuthnott, grandson of Robert Arbuthnot, 1 ...

* Sir Robert Arbuthnot, 4th Baronet * Nicholas Ingram (1754-1826)Royal Naval Biography: Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag Volume 2 * Peter John Douglas (1787–1858) * Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland, KCB

List of Rear Admirals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Navy rear admirals Rear admirals Lists of admirals

List of Rear Admirals

See also

References