Commander (Royal Navy)

History

The title (originally 'master and commander') originated in around 1670 to describe Royal Navy officers who commanded ships of war too large to be commanded by a lieutenant, but too small to warrant the assignment of a post-captain, or (before about 1770) a sailing-master who was in charge of a ship's navigation. These ships were usually unrated sloops-of-war of no more than 20 guns, fireships, hospital ships and store ships. The commanding officer of this type of ship was responsible for both sailing and fighting the ship and was thus its 'master and commander'.

Before 1750, the rank was broadly considered as the limit of advancement for those without patronage, especially those who had been promoted from among a ship's crew. By contrast, those with Parliamentary supporters or family connections were more likely to spend only a nominal period as master and commander of a sloop, before being elevated to post-captain. From 1718, the Navy List began recording an officer's date of appointment to the rank of master and commander, with the intention of establishing seniority as a guide to promotion, but there is little evidence that this carried through into actual appointments.

Over the later 18th century, the rank evolved into a more regular stage of service between lieutenant and captain. The Royal Navy shortened 'master and commander' to 'commander' in 1794; however, the term 'master and commander' remained (unofficially) in common parlance for several years. The term 'master commanding' (abbreviated as 'master com.' or 'mast. com.') was still recognised in 1851, with the Navy List for that year listing 21 ships commanded by Masters with this appellation .

The rank of commander was a popular recognition of service during the Napoleonic Wars, resulting in promotion of more commanders than there were commands; in 1812 the Navy List recorded 586 commanders against 168 available vessels. Commanders unable to secure a ship were left ashore on half-pay, with limited prospects for future advancement. This promotions bottleneck was addressed from 1827 with the introduction of commanders as a second-in-command on larger vessels.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the rank has been assigned the NATO rank code of OF-4, matching the army rank of lieutenant colonel.