Captain Lieutenant Captain Lieutenant or Captain - Lieutenant is a military rank , used in the Russian Navy , previously the Red Fleet / Soviet Navy and Imperial Russian Navy , in the German Navy or Finnish Navy , in the Brazilian Navy and formerly in the British army . In Russian and other East - European navies it is the most senior junior officer rank ( equivalent to " Captain " in the Army / Ground Forces ) . The rank is also used in other countries , such as Brazil and Portugal . In many countries , a Captain Lieutenant is equal to a Commonwealth or US naval lieutenant , but this varies . The NATO rank code is OF - 2 . Russia . Captain - Lieutenant ( ) is a rank in the Russian Navy below a Captain of the 3rd rank and above a Senior Lieutenant . In Soviet times , it may be achieved as early as an officer ' s 5th year of service . The US Navy considers this rank equivalent to Lieutenant . On the other hand , the Russians assign this rank the two - and - a - half stripe insignia used in Britain and the US for Lieutenant Commander s . In terms of responsibilities , officers of this rank may serve as department heads on larger warships , but may also serve as commanding officers of 3rd and 4th rank warships ( Russian ship classifications referring to all from Krivak - class frigates to gunboats and minesweepers ) . Unlike the equivalent rank in the German Navy , submarines are at least nominally not on the list of eligible positions . In the past , when the boats were smaller , captain - lieutnants were eligible for the submarine command . However , in current Soviet / Russian ship ranking no modern submarine is given 3 ' rd rank . This reflects the high status of submarines , as all nuclear submarines ( SSBN or SSN ) are considered 1 ' st rank and large and medium diesels 2 ' nd rank , while smaller 3 ' rd rank subs simply aren ' t built . Germany and NATO . Kapitänleutnant is the third lowest officer ' s rank in the German Navy . The U . S . Navy ' s rank of Lieutenant is equal to Kapitänleutnant in NATO ' s military hierarchy ( classed as OF - 2 ) . Nevertheless , a Kapitänleutnant may command smaller ships ( e . g . submarines class 206A ) or serve as Principal Warfare Officer on larger warships , giving the rank responsibilities more along those of a Lieutenant Commander in the U . S or Royal Navies . The abbreviation of the title to " Kaleu " ( contemporary usage ) is used officially in verbal communication ; the commander of the Type VIIC U - boat U 96 in the film " Das Boot " was of this rank , and called " Herr Kaleun " ( historical usage ) by his crew . Rank insignia includes two - and - a - half stripes on shoulder boards ( or rings on sleeves ) . In the navies of Finland , Denmark and Norway the same rank is used ( Finnish : " Kapteeniluutnantti " , Danish : " Kaptajnløjtnant " , Norwegian : " Kapteinløytnant " ) . The latest revision of the relevant NATO STANAG standardization agreement makes the longstanding courtesy practice of translating the rank into English as " Lieutenant Commander " for all German , Danish and Norwegian officers of that rank official . The Norwegian Navy even goes a step further in ranking the " Kapteinløytnant " as OF - 3 when serving afloat , disregarding the Norwegian national tri - service ranking ( which still equates the " Kapteinløytnant " with the Army rank of " Kaptein " ) . UK . Captain - lieutenant was formerly a rank in the British Army ; the senior subaltern rank , above lieutenant and below captain . A regiment ' s field officer s - its colonel , lieutenant colonel , and major - originally commanded their own companies , as well as carrying out their regimental command duties . However , from the 17th century onwards , the colonel increasingly became a patron and ceremonial head instead of an actual tactical commander , with command in the field devolving to the lieutenant colonel . This left the colonel ' s company without a captain . The lieutenant of this company thus became its acting captain . This state of affairs was formally recognised with the creation of the rank of captain - lieutenant , with its own entry in the table of prices for the purchase of commissions . The rank was abolished sometime in the early nineteenth century . France . The French Army of the " Ancien Régime " used a rank of " capitaine - lieutenant " very similar to the British one . It was mostly encountered in the Royal Guard ( " maison militaire du roi " ) , where the King was officially captain of most of the Guard companies , but the effective command was in the hands of a captain - lieutenant . D ' Artagnan is perhaps the most famous captain - lieutenant in French history , as commander of the first mousquetaire company . Estonia . In the Estonian Navy the similarly sounding rank of " Kaptenleitnant " is actually an officer rank classified as NATO OF - 4 , i . e . equal to Commander in the Royal Navy and United States Navy . As the Commander of the Estonian Navy is a captain this is the de facto second highest rank in the Estonian Navy .