Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, which is equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. In many navies,^[1] vice admiral is a three-star rank with a NATO Code of OF-8, although in some navies like the French Navy it is an OF-7 rank, the OF-8 code corresponding to the four-star rank of squadron vice-admiral.

Rank Insignia[link]

The rank insignia for a vice admiral usually involves three stars, but this is not always the case. In the navy of Iraq, vice admiral insignia involves one star.^[2] In the navies of Azerbaijan,^[3] Bangladesh,^[4] China,^[5] Cuba,^[6] Iran,^[7] Mexico,^[8] North Korea,^[9] and Russia, vice admiral insignia involves two stars, and in the navy of Turkey, vice admiral insignia involves four stars.^[10]

Gallery[link]

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  Royal Australian Navy shoulder board

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  Canadian dress uniform shoulder 1968-2010

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  Canadian dress uniform sleeve from 11 June 2010

• Navy shoulder board VAdm.png

  Canadian shoulder board for short sleeve shirt or tropical white tunic

• Navy olive VAdm.png

  Canadian temperate-region CADPAT uniform

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  Egyptian shoulder board

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  Pennant of a French vice-amiral.

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  French shoulder insignia

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  Vizeadmiral of the (German) Bundesmarine

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  Indian Navy

• Vice Admiral Pakistan Navy.png

  Pakistan Navy

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  Polish Navy wiceadmirał shoulder insignia

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  Romanian tunic shoulder board of a viceamiral

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  Vicealmirante of the Spanish Navy

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  Swedish Navy sleeve insignia

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  UK Royal Navy sleeve insignia

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  UK Royal Navy shoulder board^[1]

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  US Navy

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  US Coast Guard

Australia[link]

In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vice admiral is held by the Chief of Navy and, when the positions are held by navy officers, by the Vice Chief of the Defence Force, the Chief of Joint Operations, and/or the Chief of Capability Development Group.

Vice admiral is the equivalent of air marshal in the Royal Australian Air Force and lieutenant general in the Australian Army.

Canada[link]

In the Canadian Navy, the rank of vice-admiral (VAdm) (vice-amiral or Vam in French) is equivalent to lieutenant-general of the Canadian Army and Canadian Air Force. A vice-admiral is a flag officer, the naval equivalent of a general officer. A vice-admiral is senior to a rear-admiral and major general, and junior to an admiral and general.

The rank insignia of a Canadian vice-admiral are:
On the visor of the service cap are two rows of gold oak leaves.
On service dress jacket shoulder straps, on slip-ons and on gold shoulder boards, vice-admirals wear three gold maple leaves, beneath crossed sword and baton, all surmounted by a St. Edward's Crown.
a) From 1968 to June 2010, the service dress jacket also featured a wide strip of gold braid around the cuff. b) Since June 2010, with the return of the executive curl on service uniforms (and not just on mess uniforms), the cuff insignia is one large gold braid below two standard size gold braids, the superior one includes the executive curl.

Vice-admirals are addressed by rank and name; thereafter by subordinates as "Sir" or "Ma'am". Vice-admirals are normally entitled to a staff car; the car will normally bear a flag, dark blue with three gold maple leaves arranged one over two.

A vice-admiral generally holds only the most senior command or administrative appointments, barring only Chief of Defence Staff, which is held by a full admiral or general. Appointments held by vice-admirals may include:

• Vice-Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS);
• Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (DCDS);
• Commander of an operational command (such as Canada Command);
• Chief of the Maritime Staff (CMS);
• Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of Defence in various capacities;
• commander of, or representative to, a multinational force, alliance, or treaty organization.

Charles, Prince of Wales holds the honorary rank of vice admiral in the Canadian Forces.^[11]

France[link]

In France, vice-amiral is the most senior of the ranks in the French Navy; higher ranks, vice-amiral d'escadre and amiral, are permanent functions, style and position (in French rang et appellation) given to a vice-amiral-ranking officer. The vice-amiral rank used to be an OF-8 rank in NATO charts, but nowadays, it is more an OF-7 rank.

The rank of vice-amiral d'escadre (literally, "squadron vice-admiral", with more precision, "fleet vice-admiral") equals a NATO OF-8 rank.

In the ancien régime Navy, between 1669 and 1791. The office of "Vice-Admiral of France" (Vice-amiral de France) was the highest rank, the supreme office of "Admiral of France" being purely ceremonial.

Distincts offices were :

• 1669-1791 Vice-admiral of the West (Atlantic Ocean).
• 1669-1791 Vice-admiral of the East (Mediterranean Sea).
• 1778-1791 Vice-admiral of the Asian and American Seas (American shores).
• 1784-1788 Vice-admiral of the Indian Seas (Indian Ocean).

India[link]

In India, Vice Admiral is a three star admiral.

Italy[link]

In Italy, the equivalent to vice admiral is the ammiraglio di squadra.

Philippines[link]

In Philippines, the rank vice admiral is the highest ranking official of the Philippine Navy. He is recognized as the flag officer in-charge of the Navy. The rank vice-admiral in the Philippines, has the same ranking in the U.S Navy.

United Kingdom[link]

In the Royal Navy the rank of vice-admiral should be distinguished from the office of "Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom", which is an Admiralty position usually held by a retired "full" admiral, and that of "Vice-Admiral of the Coast", a now obsolete office dealing with naval administration in each of the maritime counties.

History[link]

United States[link]

Vietnam[link]

In Vietnam, the equivalent to vice admiral is the Phó Đô Đốc.

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• Comparative Military Ranks