Kommodore is a German rank equivalent to Commodore

Commodore (rank)

Commodore is a military rank used in many navies that is superior to a navy captain, but below a rear admiral. Non-English-speaking nations often use the rank of flotilla admiral or counter admiral as an equivalent .It is often regarded as a one-star rank with a NATO code of OF-6, but is not always...

. Kommodore originated as a title used by some Captains in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. A German Commodore could hold any naval rank between Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 and Captain and the title of Commodore was held by those officers who held tactical control over more than one vessel. This was most common with U-Boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 commanders in charge of several submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

s that were assigned to a single task force. (In the 19th-Century, German officers of this rank were referred to as Fleet Captain

Fleet captain

Fleet Captain is a rare military title that may be bestowed upon senior naval captains for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is to temporarily take command of more than one vessel. The rank can, therefore, be interpreted as a close equivalent to Commodore or to the 19th century rank...

s (Flottenkapitän).)

By World War II, Commodore had at last become an actual rank in the Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...

(German War Navy). The position was considered that of a senior Captain

Senior Captain

Senior Captain is a rare military rank which is used in some countries armed forces.-Army:In some armies of the world, the senior captain is a rank between a regular Captain and a Major. The rank is often only found in armies and air forces...

, with insignia being the shoulder boards of a Captain with one thick rank stripe on the sleeve. German Commodores also were permitted to wear greatcoat lapels and visor insignia of an Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 but were not officially members of the German Admiralty. The World War II rank of Commodore existed in a grey zone of seniority, very similar to the Schutzstaffel

Schutzstaffel

The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...

(S.S.) rank of Oberführer

Oberführer

Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...

.

After the fall of Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

, and the rebuilding of the Deutsche Marine (modern German navy), Commodore fell into disuse as a rank, effectively replaced by the Flotilla Admiral

Flotilla Admiral

Flotilla admiral is the lowest flag rank, a rank above captain, in the modern navies of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Sweden. It corresponds to the ranks of commodore or rear admiral ....

(Flottillenadmiral) which is the lowest flag rank. It reappeared as a title in the 1950s. In the modern age, a German Commodore is a senior Captain who holds the rank of Captain but holds such positions as a Naval Squadron Commander.