Commodore

The first flag rank of the Royal Navy, OF-6, marked by a single broad stripe, commanding flotillas and stations.

Overview

Commodore wears a single broad gold stripe, wider than any captain stripes, and is the first flag rank in the Royal Navy, OF-6 in NATO terms. Historically commodore was an appointment, a captain given flag authority over a squadron without promotion, and the rank oscillated between appointment and substantive grade through the twentieth century before settling as a substantive rank. Commodores command flotillas, strike groups in waiting, naval stations, and task groups afloat. The word is a corruption of Dutch commandeur, entering English with the seventeenth century wars against the Dutch. The US Navy revived the title as rear admiral lower half.