| Hierarchy of naval officer ranks |
| Flag officers: |
|---|
| Admiral of the navy Admiral of the fleet • Fleet admiral |
| Senior officers: |
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Fleet captain • Post captain |
| Junior officers: |
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Captain lieutenant • Flag lieutenant |
| Training officers: |
Grand admiral is a historic naval rank, generally being the highest such rank present in any particular country. Its most notable use was in Germany — the German word is Großadmiral.
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In Bourbon Restoration France, the rank was an honorific one equivalent to that of marshal in the French Army.
In the German Navy, the rank was the equivalent of a British admiral of the fleet or a United States fleet admiral. It was created in 1901, and like field marshals its holders were authorised to carry a baton.[1]
Before and during World War I, the following men were made grand admirals of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy):
Before and during World War II, the following men were made grand admirals of the German Kriegsmarine:
The Kriegsmarine also used the rank of general admiral (Generaladmiral) which was senior to a full admiral, but junior to a grand admiral.
The rank of grand admiral (in Italian, grande ammiraglio) was created by Benito Mussolini in 1924. It was established primarily to honour Paolo Thaon di Revel, who had been head of the Italian Regia Marina during World War I — he was the only person to be awarded the rank. It was equivalent to marshal of Italy in the army and also marshal of the Air Force.
The rank of grand admiral of Peru (Spanish: gran almirante del Perú) was created by Peruvian Congress in 1967. It was posthumously awarded to Miguel Grau Seminario who was a renowned Peruvian naval officer of German ancestry and hero of the Naval Battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific (1879–1884).
Anton Haus, commander of the Austro-Hungarian navy for part of World War I, was given the title of grand admiral (Großadmiral) in 1916. No other active-duty officer (except members of the Imperial family) was ever given this rank (although Haus's immediate successor, Maximilian Njegovan, was promoted to grand admiral on the retired list in 1918).
The rank of grand admiral also has appeared in science fiction literature, most significant of which is the literature of Star Wars. Grand Admiral Thrawn, of the Timothy Zahn novels, is one such science fiction character who held this highest of naval ranks.