Liner of the Line
Liner captain was an officer rank of the k. (U.) K. Navy and corresponded in rank to the colonel in the land forces . His equivalent in the German Imperial Navy is the sea captain . The rank designation is partly used in the successor states of Austria-Hungary , for example in the navies of Yugoslavia and Croatia .
The title is explained by the classification of warships into size classes, which was customary well into the 19th century, starting with the smallest, the corvette , through the frigate to the ship of the line . In the Austrian navy this led to appropriately formed titles: corvette captain (equivalent to major , title identical to that of the German navy (es)), frigate captain ( lieutenant colonel , title identical to that of the German navy (s)), and, of course, ship of the line.
In systematic correspondence, the ranking of naval subaltern officers in Austria-Hungary was dubbed as follows: Corvette lieutenant (as equivalent to lieutenant [z. See]), frigate lieutenant (corresponds to first lieutenant [z. See]) and lieutenant of the line (corresponds to captain or . German captain lieutenant ). This ranking has also been preserved in the Croatian Navy.