"US Navy ranks" Topic
3 Posts
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| Bozkashi Jones | 27 May 2019 2:27 a.m. PST |
Well, Confederate Navy really. The CSS Alabama's most senior officer after Captain Semmes was Lieutenant John M. Kell, known to the ship's company as the 'First Luff'. I'm just curious to know: 1) Did the American navies in the 19th Century use the title 'First Lieutenant', like the British, instead of 'Executive Officer' as I believe it has been since the 20th Century? 2) The fact that he was called 'Luff' seems to imply that lieutenant was pronounced 'Leff-tenant', as it is in the UK, rather than 'Loo-tenant', as it is in modern American English Just curious. Nick |
79thPA  | 27 May 2019 6:09 a.m. PST |
Luff is a nautical term, so I think it would be incorrect to try and devine the pronunciation of the word lieutenant from it. The USN rank structure went through multiple changes in the 19th century. I guess the XO may be referred to as the First Lieutenant if the XO position was that of a lieutenant, but the executive officer might also be a commander, Lt. Commander, ensign or midshipman, so they certainly wouldn't be referred to as a First Lieutenant. |
| Ed Mohrmann | 27 May 2019 12:49 p.m. PST |
I've no idea when it changed, but during the
sailing Navy days, the order of officers (lieutenants)
was determined by the date of the commissioning
of the individuals. That is, if a ship's TO called for four lieutenants,
the lieutenant with the oldest commission date would
be the First Lieutenant, the next eldest in commission
the Second Lieutenant, etc. Same practice in the RN, IIRC. |
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