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Sub-Lieutenant
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Sub-Lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.
In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a Lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant corresponds with, but is immediately junior to, the rank of Lieutenant in the British Army and of Flying Officer in the Royal Air Force. An RN sub-lieutenant ranks above an Army Second Lieutenant or an RAF Pilot Officer.
In some armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank.
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Encyclopedia
Sub-Lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.
In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a Lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant corresponds with, but is immediately junior to, the rank of Lieutenant in the British Army and of Flying Officer in the Royal Air Force. An RN sub-lieutenant ranks above an Army Second Lieutenant or an RAF Pilot Officer.
In some armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However in Brazil it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain it is the second highest non-commissioned rank.
History of naval rank
From the 18th century until the second half of the 19th century, a midshipman in the Royal Navy who passed the lieutenant's examination did not automatically receive a promotion. Midshipmen with political connections were promoted first, while others would wait their turn on a roster. During a time of war, with a large number of ships and battle took its toll on officers, the wait might be a year or two. During a time of peace promotion might be delayed so long that arrived too late to be of any value to the midshipman.
Tired of seeing less-deserving but more politically connected juniors pass over their heads, and unable or unwilling to continue to rely indefinitely on their parents' financial support, some midshipmen had taken to seeking appointments as master's mates during the long wait for promotion to lieutenant. This entitled them to an increase in pay, but as a general rule prevented them from further promotion in the executive ranks. In the early years of the eighteenth century, the old rating of master's mate was replaced by second master. In 1824 two further grades were also introduced, consisting of master's assistants and second-class volunteers. These corresponded to midshipmen and first-class volunteers respectively in the executive line. There after, passed midshipmen appear to have been known as mates, without the prefix "master's". The rank of mate was officially sanctioned in 1838, when a Royal Commission, presided over by the Duke of Wellington, recommended the institution of the rank of mate as an official step between midshipman and lieutenant.
In 1861 mate was abolished in favor of sub-lieutenant.. This made no practical difference to the officers in question since they continued to receive the same pay as before. But the new title was more distinctive; it brought them into line with their opposite numbers in the Army and established them as commisioned officers.
Acting Sub-Lieutenants
In 1955, the Royal Navy created the rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant. Unlike their substantive counterparts, Acting Sub-Lieutenants are subordinate officers, as they hold their ranks by order and not by commission. Upon passing Fleet Board, Acting Sub-Lieutenants were confirmed as Sub-Lieutenants and issued commissions backdated to the date when they were appointed Acting Sub-Lieutenants. The rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant now exists only in the Royal Naval Reserve, having been abolished in the Royal Navy around 1993.
Before the abolition of the rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, the rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant corresponded with, but was junior, to, the ranks of Lieutenant (Army) and Flying Officer (RAF). This can be seen in print versions of STANAG 2116 edition 5 (1992).
In many Commonwealth navies (e.g. Canada and Australia) however, the rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant still exists as a commissioned rank equivalent to Second Lieutenant, while the rank of Sub-Lieutenant is equivalent to that of an army Lieutenant. Of note is that since the term "acting" is a designation, both Acting and substantive ranks should be orally addressed as "Sub-Lieutenants." The Royal New Zealand Navy follows the U.S. precedent in titling its lowest commissioned officer Ensign.
In the Royal Thai Army, Army Reserve Force Students who complete grade 5 and their B.D. are promoted to the rank of Acting Sub-Lieutenant (?????? ???????).
Modern Royal Naval practice
In the modern Royal Navy, those joining as graduates start as Sub-Lieutenants with non-graduates joining as Midshipmen.
Sub-Lieutenants are confirmed in their rank and receive their commission parchments upon joining the trained strength (i.e. after Fleet Board and professional training), but their commissions are backdated to the date they were initially appointed to the rank of Sub-Lieutenant.
Rank insignia: Armies
In France, a sub-lieutenant (sous-lieutenant) is the junior commissioned officer in the Army or the Air Force. He wears a band in the colour of his corps (e.g. gold for infantry, silver for armoured cavalry, etc.). During the XVIIIth century a rank of sous-lieutenant de vaisseau existed in the French Navy. It was the equivalent of the master's mate rank of the Royal Navy. It is now replaced by the rank of "First Ensign" (enseigne de vaisseau de première classe).
In Argentina, a sub-lieutenant wears a single silver sun on each shoulder.
In Brazil, a sub-lieutenant, the most senior non-commissioned rank, wears a golden lozenge.
In Mexico, the sub-lieutenant is the junior officer in the rank scale, wearing a single gold bar.
In Thailand, a sub-lieutenant and Acting Sub-Lieutenant wears a single star on each shoulder.
Rank insignia: Naval
In the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy, the insignia of both Sub-Lieutenants and Acting Sub-Lieutenants consists of one medium gold braid stripe with curl. The size of this stripe should not be confused with the narrow stripe, colloquially referred to as "spaghetti strap," used on the Royal New Zealand Navy rank of Ensign and the Canadian navy's Naval Cadets as well as the narrow middle stripe of Lieutenant-Commanders. The Royal Air Force also followed this example of braiding when developing their rank system (see Flying Officer).
The insignia of Sub-Lieutenants in most commonwealth countries are identical to the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard grade of Ensign (although US ranks do not use the executive "curl"), even though its equivalent grade in the USN is actually Lieutenant Junior Grade.
Uniquely in the Canadian navy, Acting Sub-Lieutenants display as rank one medium stripe, and (substantive) Sub-Lieutenants display one medium stripe and an added narrow stripe placed further up. Of note is that in mess kit and formal wear, both of these ranks wear the same single medium stripe.
British Army
The British Army briefly had a rank of Sub-Lieutenant in the late nineteenth century, replacing the ranks of Ensign in the infantry and Cornet in the cavalry. After a few years, it was replaced in turn by the rank of Second Lieutenant.
See also
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