Second Master

Second master was a rating introduced into the Royal Navy in 1753 that indicated a deputy master on third-rate ships of the line or larger.

Second masters were paid significantly more than master's mates, £5 5s per month.[1] A second master was generally a master's mate who had passed his examination for master and was deemed worthy of being master of a vessel. Second masters were given the first opportunity for master vacancies as they occurred.[2]

Master's mates also acted as second master of vessels too small to be allocated a warranted master.[3]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Lavery, Brian (1989). Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organization. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press. p. 326. ISBN 0870212583. 
  2. ^ Rodger, N.A.M. (1986). The Wooden World: An Anatomy of the Georgian Navy. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 216. ISBN 0870219871. 
  3. ^ "Officer ranks in the Royal Navy". http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/info_sheets_nav_rankings.htm#Slt. Retrieved 2009-04-25.