(; abbreviated KAdm) is a senior naval

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 that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

rank in several

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-speaking countries, equivalent to counter or

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Austria-Hungary

In the Austro-Hungarian '' K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'' (1849 to 1918) there were the flag officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Konteradmiral'' in the 20th century), ''Viceadmiral'' , ''Admiral'' and ''Großadmiral''.

Germany

''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval

rank in the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is part of the unified (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Marine'' (German Navy) became the official ...

. It is equivalent to ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' in the '' Heer'' and ''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and ''

Generalstabsarzt and are Two star rank, "two-star" ranks and the second highest ranks in the medical service of the German Bundeswehr. Equivalent ranks in the are and in the . Bundeswehr and are the second highest ranks of the Joint Medical Service (G ...

'' in the '' Zentraler Sanitätsdienst der Bundeswehr''.

Rank insignia and rating

The rank insignia, worn on the sleeves and shoulders, is a single five-pointed star above a single normal stripe and a wide stripe. The star is omitted on rank loops. ''Konteradmiral'' is a B7 grade in the pay rules of the Federal Ministry of Defence. The sequence of ranks in decreasing seniority is: *OF-9: ''Admiral'' / ''General'' *OF-8: '' Vizeadmiral'' / ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

'' *OF-7: ''Konteradmiral'' / ''

'' *OF-6: '' Flottillenadmiral'' / '' Brigadegeneral''

History

Imperial German Navy and ''Kriegsmarine''

In the ''

Kaiserliche Marine The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term was used partic ...

'' and ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

'', ''Konteradmiral'' was an OF-6 one-star officer rank equivalent to a ''Heer'' or ''Luftwaffe'' ''Generalmajor'', and to an SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between 1932 and 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as '' Untergruppenführer'' in ...

'' and ''

'' of the ''

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

''. The rank insignia consisted of shoulder strap and sleeve stripes. Shoulder straps had to be worn on uniform jackets and consisted of twisted gold-braids (no pips or stars) on padding in navy blue weapon color. Cuff insignia consisted of one golden big stripe, one normal stripe, and a five-point naval star above. The sleeve rings encircled the lower cuffs. The last surviving ''Kriegsmarine'' ''Konteradmiral'', Eberhard Godt, died at the age of 95 on 13 September 1995.

National People's Army

''Konteradmiral'' ( OF-6) was the lowest flag officer grade of the ''Volksmarine'', equivalent to the

one-star rank Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usually ...

'' (OF-6 as well). In the GDR ''

Volksmarine The (VM, ; ) was the Navy, naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence ...

'' there were three flag officer ranks: ''Konteradmiral'', ''Vizeadmiral'', and ''Admiral''. The GDR State Council decided from 25 March 25, 1982 to introduce the rank of ''Flottenadmiral'' . ;''Konteradmiral''s of the GDR ''Volksmarine'':

Insignia

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Konteradmiral Naval ranks Naval ranks of Germany Admirals One-star officers of Nazi Germany Two-star officers of the Bundeswehr