View source for Commodore (Royal Navy)

{{Short description|Senior rank of the Royal Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military rank
| name           = Commodore
| image          = UK-Navy-OF6-Flag.svg
| image_size     = 100px
| caption        = Flag of a commodore, [[Royal Navy]]
| image2         = British Royal Navy OF-6-collected.svg
| image_size2    = 100px
| caption2       = Insignia shoulder board and sleeve lace for commodore
| image3         =
| image_size3    =
| caption3       =
| country        = {{flagu|United Kingdom|name=United Kingdom}}
| service branch = {{unbulleted list|{{navy|United Kingdom}}}}
| abbreviation   = Cdre
| rank           = [[One-star rank|One-star]] 
| NATO rank      = [[Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers#Officers (OF 1–10)|OF-6]]
| Non-NATO rank  = [[One-star rank|O-7
]]
| formation      = 1674
| abolished      =
| higher rank    = [[Rear admiral (Royal Navy)|Rear admiral]]
| lower rank     = [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]]
| equivalents    = {{unbulleted list|[[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|Brigadier]] ([[British Army|Army]]; [[Royal Marines]])|[[Air Commodore]] ([[Royal Air Force|RAF]])}}
| history        =
}}

'''Commodore''' ('''Cdre''') is a rank of the [[Royal Navy]] above [[Captain (Royal Navy)|captain]] and below [[Rear admiral (Royal Navy)|rear admiral]]. It has a [[NATO]] ranking code of [[OF-6]].  The rank is equivalent to [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|brigadier]] in the [[British Army]] and the [[Royal Marines]] and to [[air commodore]] in the [[Royal Air Force]]. Commodore has been a substantive rank in the Royal Navy since only 1997. Until then the term denoted a functional position rather than a formal rank, being the title bestowed on the senior officer of a fleet of at least two naval vessels comprising an independent (usually ad hoc and short-term) command. (In this case, for instance, a lieutenant in substantive rank could be a commodore for the term of the command.)

==History==
The rank of commodore was introduced during the 17th century in November 1674 (though not legally established until 1806). In 1684 the navy introduced two classes of commodore, the first known as a ''Commodore Distinction'' and the other a ''Commodore Ordinary''; these would later evolve into commodores first and second class. In 1734 the title of commodore was formally approved by an [[order in council]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Perrin |first1=W. G. (William Gordon) |title=British flags, their early history, and their development at sea; with an account of the origin of the flag as a national device |date=1922 |publisher=Cambridge : The University Press |location=Cambridge, England |page=[https://archive.org/details/britishflagsthei00perrrich/page/102 102] |url=https://archive.org/details/britishflagsthei00perrrich |chapter=IV:Flags of Command: Pendants of Command, Commodores}}</ref> They were formally separated into first class (those with subordinate line captains) and second class (those commanding ships themselves) in 1826. The previous broad red and blue pennants were abolished in 1864 along with the coloured squadrons, the commodore of the white's broad pennant with the Cross of St George remained as the [[command flag]] for commodores first class, who wore the same sleeve lace as [[Rear admiral (Royal Navy)|rear admirals]]. The white broad pennant with a red ball was introduced as the command flag for commodores second class. The appointment of commodore first class has been in [[abeyance]] since 1958, leaving the pennant with a single red ball to cover all Royal Navy commodores.

Modern commodores wear the sleeve lace previously worn by commodores second class. Commodore has only been a substantive rank in the Royal Navy since 1997. Before then it continued to be an appointment conferred on senior captains holding certain positions.<ref>[http://www.debretts.co.uk/forms-of-address/professions/armed-forces/royal-navy/commodore-and-captain.aspx Debrett's] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120729172653/http://www.debretts.co.uk/forms-of-address/professions/armed-forces/royal-navy/commodore-and-captain.aspx |date=2012-07-29 }}</ref> For example, the senior commander of [[destroyer]]s within a fleet in the Royal Navy could carry the title of "Commodore (D)", while the fleet's senior commander of [[submarine]]s could carry the title of "Commodore (S)", although in both cases as an appointment rather than a rank. During World War I the title of "Commodore (T)" was the officer who commanded [[torpedo boat]] flotillas.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grimes |first1=Shawn |title=War planning and strategic development in the Royal Navy, 1887–1918 |url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/2926803/408275.pdf |website=kclpure.kcl.ac.uk |publisher=Kings College, University of London |access-date=15 October 2018 |location=London, England |page=abbreviations v}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mace |first1=Martin |title=The Royal Navy and the War at Sea 1914–1919 |date=2014 |publisher=Pen and Sword |location=Barnsley, England |isbn=9781473846562 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJqPBQAAQBAJ&q=Royal+Navy+commodore+%28S%29&pg=PA1 |language=en}}</ref>

==Promotion path==
From 1570 to 1864 the Royal Navy was divided into [[Coloured squadrons of the Royal Navy|coloured squadrons]] which determined an officer's [[Promotion path of admirals of the Royal Navy before 1864|career path]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Perrin |first1=W. G. (William Gordon) |title=British flags, their early history, and their development at sea; with an account of the origin of the flag as a national device |date=1922 |publisher=Cambridge : The University Press |location=Cambridge, England |pages=[https://archive.org/details/britishflagsthei00perrrich/page/73 73]–109 |url=https://archive.org/details/britishflagsthei00perrrich |chapter=IV:Flags of Command}}</ref>

==Rank insignia and personal flag==
<gallery>
File:UK-Navy-OF6-Flag.svg|Commodore's command flag
File:British Royal Navy (sleeves) OF-6.svg|Commodore's sleeve lace
</gallery>

A modern commodore's rank insignia consists of a 45-millimetre-wide band of gold lace, with a circle of 13-millimetre-wide lace 45 millimetres in diameter above.<ref>[http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/upload/package/66/brd81book/ch03.pdf royalnavy.mod.uk]  [https://www.webcitation.org/5wBvwYhDe?url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/upload/package/66/brd81book/ch03.pdf Archived copy] at [[WebCite]] (February 2, 2011).</ref>

==Former command flags==
{{main|List of command flags of the Royal Navy}}

==See also==
{{stack|{{Portal|United Kingdom}}}}
* [[British and U.S. military ranks compared]]
* [[Air commodore]]
* [[Commodore-in-Chief]]
* [[Comparative military ranks]]
* [[Royal Navy officer rank insignia]]
* [[Rear admiral (United States)#Rear admiral (lower half)|United States one-star rank]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*Perrin, W. G. (William Gordon) (1922). "IV:Flags of Command". British flags, their early history, and their development at sea; with an account of the origin of the flag as a national device. Cambridge, England: Cambridge : The University Press.

==External links==
*{{Cite web |title=Naval Service Uniform Regulations |work=Fleet Publications and Graphics Organisation |publisher=[[Royal Navy]] |date=May 2009 |url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/upload/package/66/brd81book/ch03.pdf |access-date=19 September 2011 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5wBvwYhDe?url=http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/upload/package/66/brd81book/ch03.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2011 }}

{{UK officer ranks}}

[[Category:Military ranks]]
[[Category:Military ranks of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:One-star officers]]
[[Category:Royal Navy appointments]]