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Royal Navy Officer Equivalent and Relative Branch Ranks

Navy and army officer ranks were originally the same, with captains and lieutenants leading companies of soldiers that transformed a merchant vessel to a vessel of war. Over many years, as the naval service grew in size and complexity, it was realized that naval and army rank titles no longer lined up in terms of responsibility, and in 1747 an Order in Council codified the relationship of the two. Because there were fewer naval than army officer ranks, some ranks were differentiated by seniority or time in rank. The officers whose ranks had been so defined, who could aspire to the command of ships and fleets, came to be known as the "military" branch of the navy.

In the nineteenth century, the officers of the "non-military" branches of the navy began to express the desire for a defined relationship of their rank and status in relation to the military branch. Each branch evolved somewhat on its own, and the rank equivalents and titles were adjusted many times over the next century. Finally in the closing days of the First World War, the military titles were extended to all officers, with a branch-specific prefix.

The navy's masters, the class of professional seaman and navigators who were descended from the original merchant mariner officers, were classified as military officers in 1843, but kept their unique ranks. As their functions were overlapped by those of lieutenants, the navigating branch was allowed to die out. The engineers were given military titles in 1903, as part of a program where engineer and military officers would enter the navy all the same and specialize later. This system was abandoned in 1926 and engineering officers were given the suffix (E) after their ranks. At the same time, military branch officers were designated "executive officers." Accountant officers lost the paymaster prefix in 1944, using instead the suffix (S), for Supply and Secretariat. In 1956, engineering and supply officers became part of the navy's General List along with executive officers, all using the same rank titles. Instructor officers kept their prefix until 1996 when their branch was disbanded, leaving only the medical officers with the traditional branch distinction as part of their rank title.

Army and Navy Rank Timeline

Branch Officer Relative Rank Timeline, 1805-1918

• *Masters of the Fleet became Staff Captains in 1863, Masters of 15 years seniority became Staff Commanders.
• †Lieutenant of 8 years seniority retitled Lieutenant-Commander, 1 April 1914.
• ‡Engineer lieutenants over 8 years seniority "qualified and selected" for higher rank.
• §Mate retitled Sub-Lieutenant, 7 May 1861.
• **Volunteer 1st class retitled Naval Cadet in 1843

All text and images © Justin T. Broderick, 2020.