# Kommodore > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kommodore > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kommodore.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kommodore > Source revision: 1343951008 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Highest senior officer rank in the German Kriegsmarine Not to be confused with [Geschwaderkommodore](/source/Geschwaderkommodore). This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Kommodore" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Commodore Kommodore Rank flag Shoulder board and sleeve insignia Country Nazi Germany Service branch Kriegsmarine Rank group Senior officer Next higher rank Konteradmiral Next lower rank Kapitän zur See Equivalent ranks Oberführer ***Kommodore*** was the highest senior officer [rank](/source/Military_rank) ([German](/source/German_language): *Stabsoffizier-Rang*) in the German *[Kriegsmarine](/source/Kriegsmarine)*, comparable to [commodore](/source/Commodore_(rank)) in anglophone naval forces.[1] There was no counterpart in the German *[Heer](/source/German_Army_(Wehrmacht))* and*[Luftwaffe](/source/Luftwaffe)*, but *Kommodore* would have been comparable to *[Oberführer](/source/Oberf%C3%BChrer)* in the *[Waffen-SS](/source/Waffen-SS)*. ## History This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) *Kommodore* [F. Ruge](/source/Friedrich_Ruge) (middle) *Kommodore*originated as a title used by some *[Kapitän zur See](/source/Kapit%C3%A4n_zur_See)* and *[Korvettenkapitän](/source/Korvettenkapit%C3%A4n)* of the [Prussian Navy](/source/Prussian_Navy) and the *[Kaiserliche Marine](/source/Kaiserliche_Marine)* (Imperial Navy) during the 19th and early 20th centuries. A German *Kommodore* could hold any naval rank between [lieutenant](/source/Lieutenant) and captain and the title of *Kommodore* was held by those officers who held tactical control over more than one vessel. This was most common with [U-boat](/source/U-boat) commanders in charge of several [submarines](/source/Submarine) that were assigned to a single task force. In the 19th century, German officers of this rank were referred to as [fleet captains](/source/Fleet_captain) (*Flottenkapitän*). By World War II, *Kommodore* had at last become an actual - though rarely used - rank in the *[Kriegsmarine](/source/Kriegsmarine)*. The position was considered that of a [senior captain](/source/Senior_captain), with insignia being the shoulder boards of a *[Kapitän zur See](/source/Kapit%C3%A4n_zur_See)* with one thick admiral's rank stripe (52 mm) on the sleeve. German commodores also were permitted to wear greatcoat lapels and visor insignia of an [admiral](/source/Admiral) but were not officially members of the German admiralty. Probably the most prominent holder of this rank was [Karl Dönitz](/source/Karl_D%C3%B6nitz), who became *Kommodore* and *Führer der Unterseeboote* (commander of submarines) on 28 January 1939; however, he held the rank for just over eight months until 1 October 1939, when he was promoted to *[Konteradmiral](/source/Konteradmiral)*. The World War II rank of *Kommodore* existed in a grey zone of seniority, since neither of the other two branches of the *[Wehrmacht](/source/Wehrmacht)* (*[Heer](/source/German_Army_(Wehrmacht))* and *[Luftwaffe](/source/Luftwaffe)*) had equivalent ranks; thus, it was very similar to the *[S.S.](/source/Schutzstaffel)* rank of *[Oberführer](/source/Oberf%C3%BChrer)*. After the fall of [Nazi Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany), and the rebuilding of the [German Navy](/source/German_Navy), *Kommodore* fell into disuse as a rank, effectively being replaced by the *[Flottillenadmiral](/source/Flottillenadmiral)* which is the lowest flag rank. It reappeared as a title in the 1950s. In the modern age, a German commodore is a senior captain who holds the rank of captain but holds such positions as a naval squadron commander. ## *Kriegsmarine* rank insignia Main article: [Uniforms and insignia of the Kriegsmarine § Commissioned Officer ranks](/source/Uniforms_and_insignia_of_the_Kriegsmarine#Commissioned_Officer_ranks) The rank insignia consisted of shoulder strap and sleeve lace. Shoulder straps, corresponding to those of *Kapitän zur See*, had to be worn on uniform jackets and consisted of twisted silver braids with two gold pips (stars) on padding in navy blue *[Waffenfarbe](/source/Waffenfarbe)*. Cuff insignia consisted of one five-pointed star above a big gold lace. The sleeve rings encircled the lower cuffs. The sequence of ranks in decreasing order of seniority was: - *[Konteradmiral](/source/Konteradmiral)*/ *[Generalmajor](/source/Generalmajor)*[a] - *Kommodore* / no *Heer* or *Luftwaffe* equivalent - *[Kapitän zur See](/source/Kapit%C3%A4n_zur_See)* / *[Oberst](/source/Oberst)* ## Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** The contemporary German Armed Forces use the OF-6 ranks of [Flotillenadmiral](/source/Flotillenadmiral) and [Brigadegeneral](/source/Brigadegeneral) while Konteradmiral and Generalmajor are ranked as OF-7. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Konstam, Angus (19 Aug 2021). *Big Guns in the Atlantic: Germany's battleships and cruisers raid the convoys*. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 11. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781472845979](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781472845979). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kommodore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kommodore) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kommodore?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.