Fleet captain (US) is a historic military title that was bestowed upon a naval officer who served as

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

to a

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

. In the UK, a captain of the fleet could be appointed to assist an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

when the admiral had ten or more ships to command.

Historical background

In the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, during the 18th and 19th centuries, an admiral's flagship might have a ''captain of the fleet'', who would be ranked between the admiral and the ship's captain (or " flag captain"). The "captain of the fleet" would be listed as the ship's "first captain" and would serve as the admiral's chief-of staff. Captain of the fleet was a post rather than a rank in itself, and if its holder's permanent rank was below that of an admiral then he ranked just below the most junior

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

and was entitled to the pay and allowance of a rear-admiral whilst he held the post. The admiral's commands would be issued through his captain of the fleet, and the fleet's responses would be passed back to him. This role of intermediary between the overall commander and the commanded was analogous to that of a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on a large warship, through whom orders were relayed to the crew and responses received. He would also act in some senses and instances as the admiral's

. A captain of the fleet would usually be stationed on the admiral's flagship as its "first captain", and so that ship would also have a flag captain or "second captain" for everyday command of the ship itself. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

had a similar position in the 19th century, but used the title "fleet captain" instead of "captain of the fleet." The fleet captain was not always actually a captain in rank. For instance, Henry H. Bell was a commander when he served as David G. Farragut's fleet captain in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. In 1869 the

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

ordered that the title of fleet captain be changed to "chief of staff." Much later, in 1950–52, then Captain Hilary Biggs was Captain of the Fleet,

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

, afterwards being promoted to rear-admiral and finishing his career as a vice-admiral.

Science fiction

Fleet captain has appeared in several science fiction sources, the most notable of which is ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

''. As a Starfleet officer rank, there have only been two fleet captains shown in the entirety of ''Star Trek'', both from '' Star Trek: The Original Series'': Garth of Izar and Christopher Pike. Fleet Captain Pike commands the USS Enterprise, Bavali Station, and, through Kirk, the USS Farragut for the duration of a critical situation at Bavali Station. This appears temporary, as later episodes he no longer wears the disk-insignia, and is no longer addressed as Fleet Captain. The fictional Royal Manticoran Navy of the ''

Honor Harrington The Honorverse is a military science fiction book series, its two Spin-off (media), subseries, two prequel series, and anthologies created by David Weber and published by Baen Books. They are centered on the space navy career of the principal p ...

'' series maintains an equivalent rank of "Captain of the List." Captains of the List are typically given more prestigious commands than Captains not yet on the List, such as battlecruisers and superdreadnoughts, and are considered sufficiently "safe" in career terms that their promotion to flag rank is seen as an eventuality of accumulating sufficient seniority. This is equivalent to the

Age of Sail The Age of Sail is a period in European history that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid-15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the int ...

term

post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...

. Captains of the List use a different style of rank pip than Captains: The lesser title shares the four diamond rank pips with the lower rank of Commander (being distinct from a Commander in having four rank rings at their cuffs instead of three), while the greater has a distinctive disc-shaped rank insignia.

References

{{reflist Naval ranks Naval appointments

Historical background

Science fiction

See also

References