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Navies Armies Air forces
Admiral of
the fleet
Marshal or
Field marshal
Marshal of
the air force
Admiral General Air chief marshal
Vice admiral Lieutenant general Air marshal
Rear admiral Major general Air vice-marshal
Commodore Brigadier Air commodore
Captain Colonel Group captain
Commander Lieutenant colonel Wing commander
Major or
Squadron leader
Lieutenant Captain Flight lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant Lieutenant Flying officer
Ensign Second
Pilot officer
Midshipman Officer cadet Officer cadet
Seamen, soldiers and airmen
Chief petty officer or
Warrant officer
Sergeant major or
Warrant officer
Warrant officer
Petty officer Sergeant Sergeant
Leading seaman Corporal Corporal
Seaman Private Aircraftman
Naval officer ranks
Flag officers:

Admiral of the fleetFleet admiralGrand admiral
AdmiralGeneral admiral
Vice admiralSquadron vice-admiralLieutenant admiral
Rear admiralCounter admiralDivisional admiral
CommodoreFlotilla admiral

Senior officers:

CommanderFrigate captain
Lieutenant commanderCorvette captain

Junior officers:

Captain lieutenantLieutenantShip-of-the-line lieutenant
Frigate lieutenantLieutenant (junior grade)Sub-lieutenant
Corvette lieutenantEnsign

Sub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.

In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy (RN) the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of flying officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF). An RN sub-lieutenant is roughly equal to an ensign in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard and is theoretically equivalent to a Lieutenant Junior Grade which is equivalent to a Second Lieutenant and First Lieutenant (respectively) in the United States Army, Marine Corps and Air Force. This is similar to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) which has its first commissioned rank as an ensign followed by a sub-lieutenant, but, just like how an RN Sub-lieutenant ranks above a British Army Second Lieutenant, an RNZN sub-lieutenant is equivalent to an RN sub-lieutenant with an RNZN Ensign being ranked below a RN sub-lieutenant while a US Navy Ensign (and Lieutenant Junior Grade) remains to be roughly equal to sub-lieutenant in most Commonwealth countries.

In some armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However in Brazil it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain it is the second highest non-commissioned rank.

The NATO rank code is OF-1 (senior).

History of naval rank[edit]




Acting sub-lieutenant[edit]

In 1955, the Royal Navy created the rank of acting sub-lieutenant. Unlike their substantive counterparts, acting sub-lieutenants are subordinate officers, as they hold their ranks by order and not by commission. Upon passing Fleet Board, acting sub-lieutenants were confirmed as sub-lieutenants and issued commissions backdated to the date when they were appointed acting sub-lieutenants. The rank of acting sub-lieutenants was abolished in the Royal Navy around 1993, and now exists only in the Royal Naval Reserve.[citation needed]





Modern practice[edit]

In the modern Royal Navy, all officer cadets now commission as midshipmen, regardless of whether they are a graduate, upper yardsmen, or a school leaver. They are subsequently promoted to Sub-lieutenant one year after entering Britannia Royal Naval College.

In the Royal Canadian Navy, all undergoing basic officer training join as Naval Cadets, but upon graduation those who joined with a bachelor's degree receive an immediate promotion to Acting sub-lieutenant while those that do not retain their rank as Naval Cadet until such time as they finish more career-related training.

Rank insignia: armies[edit]


In Argentina, a sub-lieutenant wears a single silver sun on each shoulder.

In Brazil, a sub-lieutenant, the most senior non-commissioned rank, wears a golden lozenge.

In Mexico, the sub-lieutenant is the junior officer in the rank scale, wearing a single gold bar.

In Thailand, a sub-lieutenant and acting sub-lieutenant wears a single star on each shoulder.

Rank insignia: naval[edit]

UK sub-lieutenant sleeve insignia



In the Royal Canadian Navy, acting sub-lieutenants display one medium stripe. A sub-lieutenant adds a narrow stripe below the medium stripe to maintain the executive curl on the top. The equivalent army and air force lieutenant rank has the narrow stripe above the medium stripe, since these elements do not need to maintain spacing on top due to the lack of an executive curl; the RCN followed this pattern before the addition of the curl in 2010.

British Army[edit]

The British Army briefly had a rank of sub-lieutenant in the late 19th century, replacing the ranks of ensign in the infantry and cornet in the cavalry. After a few years, it was replaced in turn by the rank of second lieutenant.

See also[edit]

Unterleutnant of the Volksmarine


  3. ^ Lewis 1960, p. 146,197
  4. ^ a b Lewis 1939, p. 212,230



External links[edit]