Captain general of the Navy

Captain general of the Navy (capitán general de la Armada in Spanish) is a five-star naval officer rank and the highest rank of the Spanish Navy (Armada Española). The five-star NATO rank code is OF-10, the routine honorary appointments formally ceased in 1999. The rank of captain general of the Navy is equivalent to an admiral of the fleet in many nations such as the United Kingdom or the United States, a captain general of the Spanish Army (Ejército de Tierra Español) or an Air captain general in the Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire).

A peculiar usage of the term captain general arose in the Spanish Navy of the 16th century. A capitán-general was appointed by the king as the leader of a fleet (although the term 'squadron' is more appropriate, as most galleon fleets rarely consisted of more than a dozen vessels, not counting escorted merchantmen), with full jurisdictional powers. The fleet second-in-command was the 'almirante' (admiral), an officer appointed by the capitan-general and responsible for the seaworthiness of the squadron. One captain-general that sailed under the Spanish flag that is now well known was Ferdinand Magellan, leader of the first fleet to sail around the world.

Since King Alfonso XII's reign (1874-1885), the monarchs used captain general of the Navy rank and insignia as Commander-in-chief. Briefly abolished by the Second Spanish Republic, it was restored in 1938 during the regime of Francisco Franco, an Army general. Since 19th century honorary promotions of retired admirals to this rank were also made, such as the prime ministers Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas (1928) and Luis Carrero Blanco (1973), the only posthumous promotion. Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, claimant to the Spanish throne (1941-1977) and father of King Juan Carlos, was also made honorary captain general of the Spanish Navy in 1992.

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