Rear-Admiral of the Blue

Rear-Admiral of the Blue
Command flag (1702–1864)
Country United Kingdom
Service branchRoyal Navy
AbbreviationRAB
Next higher rankRear-Admiral of the White
Next lower rankCommodore of the red, first class

Rear-Admiral of the Blue was a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, immediately outranked by the rank Rear-Admiral of the White. Royal Navy officers currently holding the ranks of commodore, rear admiral, vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. From 1688 to 1805 this rank was in order of precedence ninth; after 1805 it was the tenth. In 1864 it was abolished as a promotional rank (pictured adjacent is the command flag for a Rear-Admiral of the Blue).[1]

  1. ^ Perrin, W. G. (William Gordon) (1922). British flags, their early history, and their development at sea; with an account of the origin of the flag as a national device. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 76–109.