Counter admiral

Counter admiral is a military rank used for high-ranking officers in several navies around the world, though the rank is not used in the English-speaking world, where its equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French . Depending on the country, it is either a one-star or two-star rank. In modern navies that use it, counter admiral is generally, although not always, the lowest flag officer rank. In the German Navy, for instance, ranks below ; in the Royal Canadian Navy, (rear admiral in English) ranks above .

French-speaking countries

In France and other French-speaking countries' navies the rank of is used as the lowest flag officer. It is usually placed above ship-of-the-line captain (Template:Langx) and below vice admiral (Template:Langx).

Germany

Template:Main article is a NATO OF-7 (two-star rank) of the (German Navy), equivalent to the ("major general") in the German Army and the German Air Force.

Nordic countries

The rank of counter admiral is used in all the Nordic countries.

Denmark and Norway

In 1771, the rank of was removed and replaced with the rank of counter admiral (Danish/Norwegian: ).

Finland

Counter admiral is the more direct translation of Finnish , a two-star rank used in the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Border Guard. However, it is usually translated as rear admiral in international use.

Portuguese speaking countries

In the navies of Brazil and Angola the rank of contra-almirante is the lowest of the flag officer ranks. In the navies of Portugal and Mozambique the rank of contra-almirante is the second lowest, above that of comodoro (commodore).

Until the end of the 19th century, the present rank of contra-almirante was named chefe de esquadra (chief of squadron), both in the Portuguese and in the Brazilian navies.

Russia and other former communist countries

Kontr-admiral was the lowest flag officer rank of the Soviet Navy and is the lowest flag rank of the Russian Navy, similar to an OF-6 officer.

NATO code

While the rank of counter admiral is used in a number of NATO countries, it is ranked differently depending on the country.

NATO code	Country	English equivalent
		UK	US
OF-7	Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia	Rear admiral	Rear admiral
OF-6	Albania, France, Italy, Poland, Spain	Commodore	Rear admiral (lower half)

Gallery

• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Albanian Naval Force)[4]
  
  (Albanian Naval Force)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Angolan Navy)[5]
  
  (Angolan Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Argentine Navy)[6]
  
  (Argentine Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Azerbaijani Navy)[7]
  
  (Azerbaijani Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Benin Navy)[8]
  
  (Benin Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Bolivian Navy)[9]
  
  (Bolivian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Brazilian Navy)[10]
  
  (Brazilian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". (Bulgarian Navy)[11]
  
  
  (Bulgarian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Cameroon Navy)
  
  (Cameroon Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". Rear-admiralScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (Royal Canadian Navy)[12]
  
  Rear-admiral
  (Royal Canadian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Chilean Navy)[13]
  
  (Chilean Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Colombian National Navy)[14]
  
  (Colombian National Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Navy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  
  (Navy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Congolese Navy)[15]
  
  (Congolese Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Croatian Navy)[16]
  
  (Croatian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Cuban Revolutionary Navy)[17]
  
  (Cuban Revolutionary Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Royal Danish Navy)[18]
  
  (Royal Danish Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Dominican Navy)[19]
  
  (Dominican Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Ecuadorian Navy)[20]
  
  (Ecuadorian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Navy of El Salvador)[21]
  
  (Navy of El Salvador)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Estonian Navy)[22]
  
  (Estonian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Navy of Equatorial Guinea)
  
  (Navy of Equatorial Guinea)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:LangxScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (Finnish Navy)[23]
  
  Template:Langx
  (Finnish Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (French Navy)[24]
  
  (French Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Gabonese Navy)
  
  (Gabonese Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (German Navy)[25]
  
  (German Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Honduran Navy)[26]
  
  (Honduran Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Italian Navy)[27]
  
  (Italian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Navy of Ivory Coast)[28]
  
  (Navy of Ivory Coast)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". (Kazakh Naval Forces)[29]
  
  
  (Kazakh Naval Forces)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Latvian Naval Forces)[30]
  
  (Latvian Naval Forces)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Lithuanian Naval Force)[31]
  
  (Lithuanian Naval Force)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Madagascar Navy)[32]
  
  (Madagascar Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Mexican Navy)[33]
  
  (Mexican Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Montenegrin Navy)[34]
  
  (Montenegrin Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Royal Moroccan Navy)[35]
  
  (Royal Moroccan Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Mozambique Naval Command)
  
  (Mozambique Naval Command)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Nicaraguan Navy)[36]
  
  (Nicaraguan Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Royal Norwegian Navy)[37]
  
  (Royal Norwegian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Paraguayan Navy)[38]
  
  (Paraguayan Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Peruvian Navy)[39]
  
  (Peruvian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Polish Navy)[40]
  
  (Polish Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Portuguese Navy)[41]
  
  (Portuguese Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Romanian Naval Forces)[42]
  
  (Romanian Naval Forces)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Romanian Naval Forces)[42]
  
  (Romanian Naval Forces)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". (Russian Navy)[43]
  
  
  (Russian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Senegalese Navy)
  
  (Senegalese Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". (Serbian River Flotilla)[44]
  
  
  (Serbian River Flotilla)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Slovenian Navy)[45]
  
  (Slovenian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Spanish Navy)[46]
  
  (Spanish Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Swedish Navy)[47]
  
  (Swedish Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Togolese Navy)[48]
  
  (Togolese Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". Template:LangxScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (Tunisian Navy)[49]
  
  Template:Langx
  (Tunisian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Turkmen Naval Forces)[50]
  
  (Turkmen Naval Forces)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang". (Ukrainian Navy)[51]
  
  
  (Ukrainian Navy)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (National Navy of Uruguay)[52]
  
  (National Navy of Uruguay)
• Script error: No such module "Lang". (Venezuelan Navy)[53]
  
  (Venezuelan Navy)