Admiral of the fleet
An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to Field marshal and Marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral.
It is also a generic term for a senior admiral in command of a large group of ships, comprising a fleet or, in some cases, a group of fleets. If actually a rank, its name can vary depending on the country. In addition to "fleet admiral" and "admiral of the fleet", such rank names include "admiral of the navy" and "grand admiral".
The following articles contain specific information on the rank as it pertains to individual countries:
Ambiguity exists when translating the French amiral into English (into admiral of the fleet or admiral). A French title of amiral de la flotte, outranking a full admiral was created in 1939 for Darlan, who was the only person in French history to hold that title. Amiral de la flotte became a rank in 1942, when Darlan was commander in chief of the military forces of the Vichy Regime. The rank of Amiral de la flotte was still mentioned in French laws in 1957.[1]
![Almirante-da-Armada (Angolan Navy)[3]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Blank.svg/120px-Blank.svg.png){kind=small}
![Admiral of the fleet (Royal Australian Navy)[4]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Australia-Navy-OF-10-collected.svg/95px-Australia-Navy-OF-10-collected.svg.png)
![Laksamana armada (Royal Brunei Navy)[5]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/19.RBrN-FM.svg/51px-19.RBrN-FM.svg.png)
![Admiral flote (Croatian Navy)[6]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Rukav_zimske_odore_admirala_flote_HRM.svg/56px-Rukav_zimske_odore_admirala_flote_HRM.svg.png)
![Admiral of the fleet (Indian Navy)[7]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Generic-Navy-13.svg/58px-Generic-Navy-13.svg.png)
![Laksamana armada (Royal Malaysian Navy)[8]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Malaysia-navy-OF-10.svg/67px-Malaysia-navy-OF-10.svg.png)
![Admiral of the fleet (Nigerian Navy)[9]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Nigeria-Navy-OF-10.svg/51px-Nigeria-Navy-OF-10.svg.png)
![Admiral of the fleet (Royal New Zealand Navy)[10]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/RNZN-SHOULDER-OF10.png/49px-RNZN-SHOULDER-OF10.png){kind=small}
![Admirał floty (Polish Navy)[11]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Poland-Navy-OF-8.svg/58px-Poland-Navy-OF-8.svg.png)
![Адмирал флота Admiral flota (Russian Navy)[13]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Russia-Navy-OF-9-Sleeve.svg/57px-Russia-Navy-OF-9-Sleeve.svg.png)
![Flot admiraly (Turkmen Naval Forces)[15]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Russia-Navy-OF-9-1994-everyday.svg/46px-Russia-Navy-OF-9-1994-everyday.svg.png){kind=small}
![Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)[16]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/British_Royal_Navy_OF-10-collected.svg/95px-British_Royal_Navy_OF-10-collected.svg.png)
![Fleet admiral (United States Navy)[17]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/US_Navy_O11_insignia.svg/70px-US_Navy_O11_insignia.svg.png)