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Counter admiral is a rank found in many navies of the world, but no longer used in English-speaking countries, where the equivalent rank is rear admiral. The term derives from the French contre-amiral.[1] Depending on the country, it is either a one-star or two-star rank.
In modern navies that use it, counter admiral is generally, although not always, the lowest flag officer rank. In the German Navy, for instance, Flottillenadmiral ranks below Konteradmiral; in the Royal Canadian Navy, contre-amiral (rear admiral in English) ranks above commodore.
In France and other French speaking countries' navies the rank of Contre-amiral is used as the lowest flag officer. It is usually placed above ship-of-the-line captain (French: capitaine de vaisseau) and below vice admiral (French: vice-amiral).
Konteradmiral is a NATO OF-7 (two-star rank) of the Deutsche Marine (German Navy), equivalent to the Generalmajor ("major general") in the German Army and the German Air Force.
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The rank of counter admiral is used in all the Nordic countries.
Denmark and Norway
In 1771, the rank of Schout-bij-nacht was removed and replaced with the rank of counter admiral (Danish/Norwegian: kontreadmiral).
Finland
Counter admiral is the more direct translation of Finnish kontra-amiraali, a two-star rank used in the Finnish Navy and the Finnish Border Guard. However, it is usually translated as rear admiral in international use.
Sweden
In the navies of Brazil and Angola the rank of contra-almirante is the lowest of the flag officer ranks. In the navies of Portugal and Mozambique the rank of contra-almirante is the second lowest, above that of comodoro (commodore).
Until the end of the 19th century, the present rank of contra-almirante was named chefe de esquadra (chief of squadron), both in the Portuguese and in the Brazilian navies.
Kontr-admiral was the lowest flag officer rank of the Soviet Navy and is the lowest flag rank of the Russian Navy, similar to an OF-6 officer.
While the rank of counter admiral is used in a number of NATO countries, it is ranked differently depending on the country.
| NATO code | Country[2] | English equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | US | ||
| OF-7 | Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia | Rear admiral | Rear admiral |
| OF-6 | Albania, France, Italy, Poland, Spain | Commodore | Rear admiral (lower half) |
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