Ordinary Seaman (rank)
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Ordinary seaman is a
military rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, Intelligence agency, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military organisation , military lines, such ...
used in naval forces.


United Kingdom

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 ...
in the middle of the 18th century, the term ''ordinary seaman'' was used to refer to a
seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...
with between one and two years' experience at sea, who showed enough
seamanship Seamanship is the skill, art, competence (human resources), competence, and knowledge of operating a ship, boat or other craft on water. The'' Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford Dictionary'' states that seamanship is "The skill, techniques, o ...
to be so rated by their captain.Lavery 1989, p. 129 A seaman with less than a year's experience was referred to as a landsman. One with more than two years' experience and considered "well acquainted with his duty" was referred to as an
able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...
. Later, the term was formalized as a rating for the lowest normal grade of
seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...
. They are not trained in any special task. They are required to work at physically hard tasks of great variety. One needs an Ordinary Seaman Certificate to obtain work. One can become an able seaman as a promotion from this position. In the modern Royal Navy the rank of Able Seaman is achieved by all recruits on completion of basic training ( HMS ''Raleigh'') and subsequent intensive training in the specialisation of choice. Thus the rank of Ordinary Seaman is obsolete. This is in line with increasing technical specialisation and ability of RN personnel.


United States

Ordinary seaman was the second-lowest rank of the 19th century
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 ...
, ranking above landsman and below
seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...
. Promotion from landsman to ordinary seaman required three years of experience or re-enlistment. An ordinary seaman who gained six years of experience and "knew the ropes", that is, knew the name and use of every line in the ship's
rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigg ...
, could be promoted to seaman. An ordinary seaman's duties aboard ship included "handling and splicing lines, and working aloft on the lower mast stages and yards." The rank existed from 1797 to 1917, when it was renamed "seaman second class". Seaman second class was later changed to the modern-day rank of seaman apprentice. The related ranks of ordinary seaman second class and ordinary seaman, engineer's force, existed in 1876–1885 and 1871–1883, respectively. The term is still in use in the
United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...
for entry-level deck personnel; the common abbreviation is OS.


Other countries

The term ''ordinary seaman'' is currently used in the Irish Naval Service. In the
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
, the rank of sailor third class (previously ordinary seaman until August 2020) may be further qualified by the suffix "(B)" or "(R)." The "(R)" indicates a recruit undergoing basic training, and is dropped on successful graduation from CFLRS Saint-Jean, the Canadian military's all-services recruit training centre. The "(B)" suffix is then appended while the sailor undergoes seamanship training, initial trade training and onboard qualification. Once fully qualified to stand watches, the "(B)" is struck from the rank abbreviation.


References


Bibliography

* * N.A.M. Roger. ''The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy.'' W.W. Norton and Company, 1986. {{UK enlisted ranks Military ranks of the Commonwealth Military ranks of Canada Military ranks of Ireland Military ranks of the Royal Navy Military ranks of the United States Navy