Editing Admiral (section)

==History==
The word "admiral" has come to be almost exclusively associated with the highest [[Naval officer ranks|naval rank]] in most of the world's [[navy|navies]], equivalent to the army rank of [[general]]. However, this was not always the case; for example, in some European countries prior to the end of [[World War II]], admiral was the third highest naval rank after [[general admiral]] and [[grand admiral]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Erich Raeder|author-link=Erich Raeder|title=Grand Admiral|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|edition=1st|year=2001|page=430|isbn=0306809621}}</ref>

The rank of admiral has also been subdivided into various grades, several of which are historically extinct while others remain in use in most present-day navies. The [[Royal Navy]] used the colours red, white, and blue, in descending order to indicate [[Admiral (United Kingdom)|seniority of its admirals]] until 1864; for example, [[Horatio Nelson]]'s highest rank was vice-admiral of the white. The generic term for these naval equivalents of army generals is [[flag officer]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QSicAZUEoUEC&pg=PA139|author=Brian Lavery|title=Horatio Lord Nelson|publisher=Trustees of the National Maritime Museum|year=2003|page=139|isbn=0-8147-5190-3}}</ref> Some navies have also used army-type titles for them, such as the [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwellian]] "general at sea".<ref>{{cite book|author=William Hepworth Dixon|author-link=William Hepworth Dixon|title=Robert Blake, Admiral and General at Sea: Based on Family and State Papers|publisher=Ballantyne Press|year=1885}}</ref>