''Konteradmiral'', abbreviated KAdm or KADM, is the second lowest naval flag officer rank in the

German Navy The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

. It is equivalent to ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-s ...

'' in the '' Heer'' and ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

'' or to '' Admiralstabsarzt'' and '' Generalstabsarzt'' in the '' Zentraler Sanitätsdienst der Bundeswehr''. In the German Navy ''Konteradmiral'' is equivalent to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

, a two-star rank with a NATO code of OF-7. However, in the former German-speaking naval forces of the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

(''Kaiserliche Marine''), the Nazi ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'', the East German '' Volksmarine'' and the Austro-Hungarian '' K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'', ''Konteradmiral'' was an

OF-6 An officer of one-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-6. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, one-star officers hold the rank ...

one-star officer rank.

Address

The official manner of formal addressing of military people with the rank ''Konteradmiral'' is "''Herr/Frau Konteradmiral''". In German naval tradition any flag officer rank may be addressed "''Herr/Frau Admiral''".

Rank insignia and rating

The rank insignia, worn on the sleeves and shoulders, is a single five-pointed star above a single normal stripe and a wide stripe. The star is omitted on rank loops. ''Konteradmiral'' is a B7 grade in the pay rules of the Federal Ministry of Defence. The sequence of ranks in decreasing seniority is: *OF-9: ''Admiral'' / ''General'' *OF-8: '' Vizeadmiral'' / ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

'' *OF-7: ''Konteradmiral'' / ''

'' *OF-6: '' Flottillenadmiral'' / '' Brigadegeneral''

History

Imperial German Navy and ''Kriegsmarine''

In the '' Kaiserliche Marine'' and ''

'', ''Konteradmiral'' was an

one-star officer rank equivalent to a ''Heer'' or ''Luftwaffe'' ''Generalmajor'', and to an ''SS-Brigadeführer'' and ''Generalmajor'' of the ''

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

''. The rank insignia consisted of shoulder strap and sleeve stripes. Shoulder straps had to be worn on uniform jackets and consisted of twisted gold-braids (no pips or stars) on padding in navy blue weapon color. Cuff insignia consisted of one golden big stripe, one normal stripe, and a five-point naval star above. The sleeve rings encircled the lower cuffs. The last surviving ''Kriegsmarine'' ''Konteradmiral'', Eberhard Godt, died at the age of 95 on 13 September 1995.

''K.u.K. Kriegsmarine''

In the Austro-Hungarian '' K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'' (1849 to 1918) there were the flag officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Konteradmiral'' in the 20th century), ''Viceadmiral'' , ''Admiral'' and ''Großadmiral''.

National People's Army

''Konteradmiral'' (

) was the lowest flag officer grade of the ''Volksamarine'', equivalent to the

one-star rank An officer of one-star rank is a senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-6. The term is also used by some armed forces which are not NATO members. Typically, one-star officers hold the rank ...

'' (OF-6 as well). In the GDR '' Volksmarine'' there were three flag officer ranks: ''Konteradmiral'', ''Vizeadmiral'', and ''Admiral''. The GDR State Council decided from 25 March 25, 1982 to introduce the rank of ''Flottenadmiral'' . ;''Konteradmiral''s of the GDR ''Volksmarine'': ;See also: List of admirals of Germany: ''Konteradmirals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Konteradmiral Naval ranks Naval ranks of Germany Admirals One-star officers of Nazi Germany Two-star officers of the Bundeswehr