Grand admiral
| Naval officer ranks |
| Flag officers: |
|---|
|
Admiral of the fleet • Fleet admiral • Grand admiral |
| Senior officers: |
|
Captain • Capt at sea • Capt of sea and war • Ship-of-the-line Capt |
| Junior officers: |
|
Captain lieutenant • Lieutenant • Ship-of-the-line lieutenant |
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. The Ottoman Turkish equivalent was kapudan pasha.
France
In Bourbon Restoration France, the rank was an honorific one equivalent to that of marshal in the French Army.
Germany
In the Imperial German Navy, the rank Großadmiral 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]
Italy
The rank of grand admiral (in Italian, grand' 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.
Austria-Hungary
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).
In popular culture
The rank of grand admiral also has appeared in science fiction literature, most significant of which is the literature of Star Wars. The Galactic Empire's Grand Admiral Thrawn, of the Timothy Zahn novels, is one such science fiction character who held this highest of naval ranks.