Captain (naval)

Maritime battle staff commanders of one-star rank (commodores or rear admirals lower half) will normally embark on large capital ships such as aircraft carriers, which will function as the flagship for their strike group or battle group, but a captain will retain command of the actual ship, and assume the title of "flag captain".

However, both ranks (and Air Force´s commodore) are considered part of the flag officers group, together with generals and admirals.

In the Belgian Navy the rank of capitaine de vaisseau or kapitein-ter-zee is the third grade of superior officer, equivalent to colonel in the land forces.

Captain at sea is a naval rank corresponding to command of a ship-of-the-line or capital ship.

[28] In the Royal Netherlands Navy, the rank of kapitein-ter-zee is the third grade of superior officer, equivalent to colonel in the land-forces.

Captain of sea and war (Portuguese: capitão de mar e guerra, formerly spelled capitão-de-mar-e-guerra) is a rank in most of the Portuguese-speaking navies, notably those of Portugal and Brazil.

But generally, in the 16th and early 17th centuries, the captain of a Portuguese man-of-war was simply called a capitão, while the commander of a fleet was termed capitão-mor, literally "captain-major".

But during the latter half of the 17th century, the term "captain of sea and war" came to designate the commander of a larger man-of-war - the ship of the line that began evolving at that time.

When Brazil gained her independence from Portugal in 1822, its navy adopted the Portuguese rank denominations, which both countries still use.

[43] Ship-of-the-line-captain (French: capitaine de vaisseau; German: Linienschiffskapitän (in the Austro-Hungarian navy); Italian: capitano di vascello; Spanish: capitán de navío; Croatian: kapetan bojnog broda) is a rank that appears in several navies.