Commodore (Royal Navy) Commodore (Royal Navy) Commodore (Cdre) is a rank of the Royal Navy above captain and below rear admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to air commodore in the Royal Air Force. 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
Henry Osborn (Royal Navy officer) Henry Osborn (Royal Navy officer) Admiral Henry Osborn (baptized 27 August 1694 – 4 February 1771) was a British naval officer who served as Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland. He was a younger son of Sir John Osborn, 2nd Baronet. Osborn joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1710. He was promoted lieutenant in 1717, and his first command was HMS "Squirrel" in 1728. On 14 May 1729, Osborn was appointed the first commodore-governor of Newfoundland, when Lord Vere Beauclerk, the naval commander of Newfoundland had declined. He visited all of the notable places on the island and divided it into