Thursday, April 18, 2013

Admiral of the Navy - you probably did not know this

Admiral of the Navy is a rank in the United States Navy that has only been held once in history, by George Dewey. In recognition of his victory at Manila Bay in 1898, Congress authorized a single officer to hold the rank of admiral, and promoted Dewey to this rank in March 1899. It was further specified that this rank was senior to the four-star rank of admiral and was equal to admiral of the fleet in the British Royal Navy. The rank lapsed with the death of Admiral Dewey on January 16, 1917.

The rank Admiral of the Navy was seen as a six-star rank during World War II, with the establishment of the rank of five-star fleet admiral. It was during this time that the Department of the Navy specified that the new 1944 version of the rank of fleet admiral was to be junior to Dewey's rank of Admiral of the Navy.

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