|Hierarchy of naval officer ranks| |Admiral of the navy Admiral
of the fleet • Fleet admiral 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, although
the latter may also correspond to rear admiral. It is sometimes
abbreviated as Cdre, CDRE or COMO. The rank of commodore derives
from the French commandeur, which was one of the highest ranks
in orders of knighthood, and in military orders the title of the
knight in charge of a commenda (a local part of the order's
territorial possessions). The Dutch Navy also used the rank of
commandeur from the end of the 16th century for a variety of
temporary positions, until it became a conventional permanent
rank in 1955. The Royal Netherlands Air Force has adopted the
English spelling of commodore for an equivalent rank. The rank
of commodore was at first a position created as a temporary
title to be bestow