Uniform Insignia Forum

Have you heard something about these ranks? What was their insignia? Do they exist now?

Bornholmer wrote: RN Acting Sub-Lieutenants and Acting POs. Have you heard something about these ranks? What was their insignia? Do they exist now?

Depending on the period in question the answer is different.

But basically in the RN, there were/ are “acting ranks" which meant an officer selected for promotion but not yet confirmed. They rank with but below any officer holding the actual rank. If they were not confirmed they reverted to their original rank. This was the case through the 18th and 19th century.

In the later part of the 19th and in this century the Acting Sub Lieutenant became a position for Midshipmen who were qualified for a commission but there were no vacancies. (Much like the way the USN Ensign was created first called “Passed Midshipman”). Prior to World War II an acting Sub Lieutenant was considered the equal of a Warrant Officer RN (who then held superior status to today’s RN Warrant Officer) However an acting Sub Lieutenant generally wore the same insignia as a Sub Lieutenant. (In World War II, the RN used Temporary, Probationary , and Acting promotions)

Part of the issue is that RN has always had a separate rank structure from the other UK armed services and they created officers differently. While just about every other Navy has gotten on the NATO/ US concept of rank equivalency amongst the services, the RN has stuck to it’s guns but is slowly changing.

Acting Sub Lieutenant became an “equivalent” to Army Second Lieutenant for a while in the 50’s RN but today you go from Midshipman to Sub Lieutenant.

As always tended to happen in the commonwealth Navies, it became an actual rank in the various dominions of the empire. (like Commodore)
It is currently an actual rank (equal to Ensign) in the Canadian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. In South Africa & New Zealand they recently changed the rank title to Ensign and it existed in the Indian and Pakistani Navies at least until recently.

It would not surprise me to see the Canadian rank title change, we have already changed the French rank title to Enseigne de vaisseau 2e classe


I terms of the Acting Petty Officer, the same concept applies. They did for a while wear the Petty Officer 2nd class badge of 2 fouled anchors.

Bornholmer wrote: RN Acting Sub-Lieutenants and Acting POs. Have you heard something about these ranks? What was their insignia? Do they exist now?

Depending on the period in question the answer is different.

But basically in the RN, there were/ are “acting ranks" which meant an officer selected for promotion but not yet confirmed. They rank with but below any officer holding the actual rank. If they were not confirmed they reverted to their original rank. This was the case through the 18th and 19th century.

In the later part of the 19th and in this century the Acting Sub Lieutenant became a position for Midshipmen who were qualified for a commission but there were no vacancies. (Much like the way the USN Ensign was created first called “Passed Midshipman”). Prior to World War II an acting Sub Lieutenant was considered the equal of a Warrant Officer RN (who then held superior status to today’s RN Warrant Officer) However an acting Sub Lieutenant generally wore the same insignia as a Sub Lieutenant. (In World War II, the RN used Temporary, Probationary , and Acting promotions)

Part of the issue is that RN has always had a separate rank structure from the other UK armed services and they created officers differently. While just about every other Navy has gotten on the NATO/ US concept of rank equivalency amongst the services, the RN has stuck to it’s guns but is slowly changing.

Acting Sub Lieutenant became an “equivalent” to Army Second Lieutenant for a while in the 50’s RN but today you go from Midshipman to Sub Lieutenant.

As always tended to happen in the commonwealth Navies, it became an actual rank in the various dominions of the empire. (like Commodore)
It is currently an actual rank (equal to Ensign) in the Canadian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. In South Africa & New Zealand they recently changed the rank title to Ensign and it existed in the Indian and Pakistani Navies at least until recently.

It would not surprise me to see the Canadian rank title change, we have already changed the French rank title to Enseigne de vaisseau 2e classe


In terms of the Acting Petty Officer, the same concept applies. They did for a while wear the Petty Officer 2nd class badge of 2 fouled anchors.