Royal Navy officer: duties, rights and privileges

The officers included lieutenants, captains and admirals. The duty of the officer was to lead the unit entrusted to him, the ship, the squadron in battle, including by personal example, and to ensure his readiness for battle.

Officers, unlike the lower ranks, were required to wear the established uniform, and the insignia relying on it. This also applied to warrant officers. So, before the introduction of the epaulette, to the full dress uniform the midshipman relied on a dirk, lieutenant rapier, captain sword, admiral sword and cane. Their behavior was regulated, both by charters and by tradition. ^{[3] [4]}

Each officer could choose for himself from the command of the messenger . He took care of personal belongings and executed orders, and if necessary he was also the helmsman of his boat. Midshipman had one messenger for several people.

Lieutenant

The lieutenant served as assistant commander of the ship. The position was also called a “lieutenant” with the addition of a number by page number, for example, the 1st lieutenant corresponded to the senior assistant. So, a ship of rank 1 was supposed to have eight lieutenants, a ship of rank 3 five, a frigate two.

In battle, the lieutenant commanded a battalion or battery of the ship. For example, on a two-deck ship of rank 3, the 1st lieutenant, through his warrant officer or foreman, commanded all maneuvers with sails, anchoring and mooring lines, the 2nd lieutenant - the operdek battery, the 4th - the hondek battery, and so on. In daily service, lieutenants were responsible for the work, training and appearance of their division in front of the 1st lieutenant.

The senior lieutenants on the list could take independent command of a small ship without a rank ( English unrated ), or lead a prize lot to deliver the prize to their port. This often became a step towards the captain's rank. In this case, the lieutenant was formally called English. Commanding Lieutenant , but by tradition he was addressed by the "captain".

Over time, to consolidate this distinction, the rank of commander was introduced, intermediate between the captain and lieutenant. It is directly related to the increase in the number of ships without a rank.

The captain of the marine corps ( Eng. Captain of the Marines ) occupied a position separate from the lieutenants. He commanded a detachment of marines assigned to the ship, directed the shooting of snipers and led the reflection of the boarding. In day-to-day service, he was responsible for guard duty and training the team in handling cold steel and small arms.

Captain

The captain , or rather the full captain ( English Post-Captain ), was responsible for the ship as a whole and the fulfillment of its assigned task. The figure of the captain was and remains central in the Royal Navy. He obeyed the squadron commander, but in independent sailing his power was almost unlimited.

The legal document restricting his actions was the so-called Military Articles ( English Articles of War ) - an analogue of the naval, disciplinary and military regulations combined. But even on them, the mass of decisions remains at the discretion of the captain. ^[4] He single-handedly appointed, removed, promoted or lowered the rank of subordinates, administered the court and sentenced and rewarded, performed the functions of civil authority if there were passengers on board, had the final word in all decisions regarding the ship and service.

Among the captain's privileges, the most respected are the signs of respect due to his rank. So, a whole unwritten code of conduct was developed on the shkans - in the presence of the captain and without. Only he had the right to sit or smoke there; the windward side was freed entirely for him; except for the officer on duty and the helmsmen, the rest could appear on the dugouts only with captain’s permission, and so on.

In turn, the captain had to take care of the appearance of the ship and the condition of its officers. It often happened that the supplies needed for the ship were nowhere to be received, or the coastal bases dragged on supplies, and the captain spent himself on maintenance, and especially the decoration of the ship himself. Often the subject was the captain's boat . He was kept better than other rowing vessels, and his team was selected by height and appearance, and received a special uniform at the expense of the captain. More concerned about the condition of the team, the captains watched the supply, at every opportunity, with fresh vegetables. The causes of scurvy in the XVIII century were not yet clear, but experience suggested that it was associated with a lack of greenery in food.

By tradition, “entertainment” alternated, but in fact formal dinners: several times a month the captain invited officers of his choice to dine in his cabin (the rest of the time he dined alone). Given that his food was the best on the ship (another privilege), this tradition had real weight. But contingency products were also purchased at captain's expense. From time to time he himself received an invitation and became a guest of the wardroom .

The most significant was the captain’s share in the prize money. If the salary was predetermined and did not change for decades, then the size of the prize money depended on the prize rating by the admiralty court . Despite the fact that the captain was entitled to 2/8 of the prize money (3/8 if his order was signed directly by the Admiralty), one successful capture, for example, a Spanish ship loaded with silver , could provide him for the rest of his life.

The senior captain could, on a specific campaign or campaign, become the commander of a small squadron, and in this case he was called a commodore (without changing the ranks in the navy list). The Commodore was privileged to choose the flagship and raise his own pennant . He was responsible for the entrusted squadron, and represented the highest authority on it, obeying the fleet commander, or directly to the Admiralty. The production at Commodore was temporary ( Eng. Temporary Commission ), and at the end of the campaign, he lowered the pennant and again became the captain.

Admiral

The admiral commanded a squadron or fleet, such as the Mediterranean fleet . He was directly subordinate to the Admiralty and was responsible both for all his ships and everything that happened on them, and for conducting the campaign in his zone. If necessary, he represented the crown before other states on military issues, and in the absence of ambassadors and envoys, and on diplomatic ones.

The youngest was the rank of rear admiral, then went the vice admiral, then the admiral. For a long time there were gradations inside the admiral ranks in color (squadron). In order to determine seniority, it was believed that the blue squadron was the lowest, followed by white and red. Accordingly, the Admiral’s brad pennants differed.

The admiral's rank was the flagship, able to place it together with the headquarters in separate rooms. The headquarters was relatively small: the commander of a large squadron had a flag lieutenant in the role of an adjutant , a personal secretary, two clerks, a servant and a doctor, who were above the standard of the admiral and steering admiral ship . Some admirals took with them to the sea additional servants and civilians. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries this meant a ship no lower than 74-gun.

In a typical case, the fleet commander raised his flag on a rank 1 ship, and the commander of a large squadron or station on a rank 2 ship . The younger flagships , or commanders of other ships by seniority, simultaneously played the role of deputy commander. The Commodores usually took as their flagship a two-day ship of rank 3, or the best available.

Among the warrant officers were the midshipman , foreman , doctor , battalion , boatswain , carpenter and gunner .

Michman

Midshipman, or "young gentlemen", was considered as future officers, and therefore held a special position. In addition, among them could be immigrants from the most senior families in Britain. Until 1812, only they, unlike other warrant officers, were required to wear uniforms. The main duty of the midshipman was to master the knowledge and skills necessary for the officer. They learned command from their officers, navigation and naval practice from the master, working with sails and rigging from Mars, artillery from the gunner, and so on. Each midshipman was required to keep his own journal daily, and, upon request, be presented to his elders. For school education midshipmen on the ship could be a specially hired teacher ( Eng. Schoolmaster ).

From the early stages of service, they were given nominal power over senior and much more experienced sailors, "for acquiring team skills." Which did not stop them from carrying most of the hardships of service along with the lower ranks, and receiving the same punishments for wrongdoing and omissions, albeit in a somewhat lightened form. As a rule, they became assistant officers — the division commander or a warrant officer — the division commander. Over time, the more successful could get the position of navigator's assistant , ( Eng. Master's Mate ). Some independently commanded a boat , a department of signalmen, or an artillery battery section. All prepared, and with the permission of the captain performed duties of the officer in charge .

The number of midshipmen changed depending on rank. A ship of rank 1 was supposed to be 24 midshipmen, rank 2 - 18, rank 3 - 12, and so on.

Master

The master ( English Sailing Master ) in Russian does not have an exact equivalent. The Warrant Officer in this position was responsible for navigation , piloting , and all non-combat evolution of the ship, such as setting, cleaning and tuning the sails, anchoring and disengaging from it, choosing the best way and taking into account the conditions of navigation. At the same time, the ship could separately have a navigator ( English navigator ) from officers and a pilot ( English pilot ), the watch officers directly commanded during the evolution, and the teacher taught the "young gentlemen". Nevertheless, the master was an expert and chief adviser to the captain on all matters of marine practice.

The origin of this title is usually attributed to the late Middle Ages (beginning from the XIII century ), when the captain of the ship was necessarily a nobleman and commander, but not necessarily a sailor. The captain had overall responsibility for the ship and command in battle, and the master had naval practice.

Approximately this title was translated as “ helmsman ”, later “skipper”, but later a different interpretation was established for the skipper .

Before the introduction of the new naval uniform in 1812, the master was not supposed to have a uniform. But, thanks to his unique position and knowledge (he was, by definition, the most experienced navigator on the ship), he could apply for an officer rank, there were cases of production from master to lieutenant.

The composition of ranks and positions of foremen changed, but always included assistant warrant officers for institutions.

Petty officers were junior commanders of divisions and divisions, for example, divisions of the Mars or sections of the artillery battery. They were the link between the officer-commander of the squad and the sailors. They were responsible for both the department's performance of its functions and the maintenance of discipline.

• Royal Navy Officer: Recruitment and Promotion
• Prize law