Talk:Post-captain

message: Or at least that was implied in the Horatio Hornblower novels.  BTW: Hornblower's first command as a post-captain was a sloop. Will (Talk - contribs) 04:18, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Becoming a post-captain might have had something to do with being listed as such in the ''Naval Gazette'' 

message: what does it mean by "(even if only a yellow admiral)"? Yeah and weres the Insignia ? --Climax-Void  Chat or My Contributions 
:Originally the Royal Navy had three squadrons, Red, White and Blue.  In theory an Admiral would start as a "Rear Admiral of the Red Squadron", then of the White, then of the Blue, before being appointed a Vice Admiral, of the White, the Red, then Blue, and Admiral of the same, before being "Admiral of the Fleet".
:An officer whose seniority entitled them to promotion to Admiral, who was never appointed to command an actual squadron, was informally called a "Yellow Admiral".  Geo Swan (talk) 19:07, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Yellow Admiral? 

message: I made this change, because I believe the original text was based on a misunderstanding.  In general the more senior officers on a station would command the larger vessels, but an admiral on a remote station was fully entitled to appoint even the most junior captain to command a Ship of the Line, if he was the most senior captain available to him.  Geo Swan (talk) 19:07, 18 November 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Explanation

message: ...shouldn't the repeated references throughout this article to our well-beloved but fictitious Hornblower and Aubrey be limited, and relegated to a separate paragraph? Both of them notionally served in all other commissioned ranks, too Jezza (talk) 18:31, 11 April 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Popular Kulture is all very well BUT... 

message: The article Board of Navy Commissioners seems to inply the USN had post captains too. True? Paul, in Saudi (talk) 12:20, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
thread_title: US Post Captain?

message: I know nothing about the subject, and that may be what allows me to notice that this article never actually says what a post-captain is. In fact, the word "distinguish" in "The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from" led me to believe the term identifies captains who are not described by either of the following two bullet points –- for example, not in command of a vessel -- but the rest of the article makes me think it's the opposite.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Dprovan (talk • contribs) 18:38, 22 May 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  What is a post-captain? 

message: I am trying to figure out the rank held by Christopher Middleton (navigator).  I can see contributors looking at the sources, and assuming he was directly commissioned as a Captain.  I don't thinks that is clear. 
On his first expedition James Cook, Captain Cook, was merely a Lieutenant.  He had been a famous navigator, but only held the rank of sailing master, a warrant rank, before being commissioned for his Pacific expedition.  
According to our favourite authors, in the 18th and 19th century, there was a general rule that anyone who received a commission had to serve for six years in the RN first.  According to our favourite authors, Captains would carry the sons of friends on their rolls, to falsely establish they were serving those six years, so they could receive their first commission early.
Well, Christopher Middleton (navigator), who had served in the (civilian) fleet of the Hudson's Bay Company for 20 years, was directly commissioned.  I find the RS unclear as to the rank he held.
RS say his half pay was 4 shillings a day == 74 pounds per year.  That may clarify his rank.  Geo Swan (talk) 00:40, 6 February 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Given his first RN command was a bomb ketch I would suspect he was commissioned as a lieutenant, which I believe was the usual rank in command of such vessels. -- Necrothesp (talk) 10:26, 10 February 2020 (UTC)
thread_title: Direct appointments to Captain...