(; abbreviated VAdm) is a senior naval

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: * ...

rank in several

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-speaking countries, equivalent to

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Austria-Hungary

In the

Austro-Hungarian Navy The Austro-Hungarian Navy or Imperial and Royal War Navy (, in short ''k.u.k. Kriegsmarine'', ) was the navy, naval force of Austria-Hungary. Ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were designated ''SMS'', for ''Seiner Majestät Schiff'' (His Majes ...

there were the flag-officer ranks ''Kontreadmiral'' (also spelled ''Konteradmiral'' in the 20th century), ''Viceadmiral'' , and ''Admiral'', as well as ''Großadmiral''.

Belgium

In the

Belgian Navy The Belgian Navy, officially the Naval Component (, ; , ; , ) of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the Navy, naval service of Belgium. History Early history The Belgian Navy was created as the ''Marine Royale'' () on 15 January 1831. This force ...

, the rank is known as , and .

Germany

Rank insignia and rating

Its rank insignia, worn on the sleeves and shoulders, are one five-pointed star above a big gold stripe and two normal ones (without the star when rank loops are worn). It is grade B8 in the pay rules of the

Federal Ministry of Defence The Federal Ministry of Defence (, ; abbreviated BMVg) is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at the Hardthöhe barracks itself located at t ...

. The sequence of ranks (top-down approach) in that particular group is as follows: *OF-9:

Admiral (Germany) Admiral, short Adm, (, ) is the most senior flag officer rank in the German Navy. It is equivalent to general in the German Army or German Air Force. In the Central Medical Services there is no equivalent. In the German Navy ''Admiral'' is, as ...

General (Germany) ''General'' () is the highest rank of the German Army and German Air Force. As a four-star rank it is the equivalent to the rank of admiral in the German Navy. The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO armies officers, OF-9 in NATO. It is gra ...

*OF-8: Vizeadmiral /

Generalleutnant () is the German-language 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 ...

*OF-7:

Konteradmiral (; abbreviated KAdm) is a senior naval flag officer rank in several German-speaking countries, equivalent to counter or rear admiral. Austria-Hungary In the Austro-Hungarian '' K.u.K. Kriegsmarine'' (1849 to 1918) there were the flag of ...

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

*OF-6:

Flottillenadmiral Flotilla admiral is the lowest flag rank, a rank above captain, in the modern navies of Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Lithuania. It corresponds to the rank of commodore in the navies of the United Kingdom and certai ...

Brigadegeneral Brigadegeneral (; , ) is the Germanic variant of Brigadier general. Belgium The rank of (; ) is used by the Belgian Land Component, Air Component and Medical Component. File:Army-BEL-OF-06.svg, Land Component File:BE-Air Force-OF6.svg, Ai ...

History

Imperial German Navy and ''Kriegsmarine''

In the ''

Kaiserliche Marine The adjective ''kaiserlich'' means "imperial" and was used in the German-speaking countries to refer to those institutions and establishments over which the ''Kaiser'' ("emperor") had immediate personal power of control. The term was used partic ...

'' and ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi 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 military branch, branche ...

'', ''Vizeadmiral'' was a flag officer rank equivalent to a ''Heer'' or ''Luftwaffe'' ''Generalleutnant'', and to an of the ''

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

''. 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 (one pip or star) on padding in navy blue weapon color. Cuff insignia consisted of one golden big stripe, two normal stripes, and a five-point naval star above. The sleeve rings encircled the lower cuffs.

National People's Army

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

''. In the

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

Volksmarine The (VM, ; ) was the Navy, naval force of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The was one of the service branches of the National People's Army and primarily performed a Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence ...

'' there were 3 flag officer ranks: ''Konteradmiral'', ''Vizeadmiral'', and ''Admiral''. The GDR State Council decided 25 March 1982 to introduce the rank of ''Flottenadmiral''.

Insignia

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vizeadmiral Naval ranks Naval ranks of Germany Admirals Two-star officers of Nazi Germany Three-star officers of the Bundeswehr ru:Вице-адмирал