Midshipman

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Midshipmen ( English for midship people , abbreviation in English Middy ) are in the British Royal Navy officers in training and with the US Navy officer candidate as a future naval officer. They bear their name because they were accommodated amidships between the crew fore and the officers aft during the sailing ship period. The rank is also still used by many Commonwealth of Nations navies who trace their tradition back to the Royal Navy.

Royal Navy

Midshipman John Windham Dalling around 1800
Collar play gel a midshipman in the Royal Navy

From the 17th century, the term midshipman was the designation of an experienced seaman in the Royal Navy . These seamen lived between the quarters of the ship's officers in the stern and the quarters of the crews in the foredeck , i.e. amidships. A hundred years later the term for officer candidates was adopted, the term for men disappeared. At the beginning of the 19th century, midshipman was a grade for an experienced officer candidate in the British Navy. In order to be promoted to the position, one had to prove at least three years of seafaring experience as a volunteer seaman, officer steward or Able Seaman . Under the supervision of the officers one performed the duties of a non-commissioned officer, at the same time one was in theory z. B. Mathematics, Geometry and prepared by the practical service for the lieutenant examination. The test required three years of driving time as a midshipman. If the test was not passed, the driving time was extended by a further six months. Passing the Passed Midshipman examination was not linked to the automatic promotion to officer, but first an officer position had to be obtained, which could take years in peacetime. One could now continue to sail as a Passed Midshipman or as a better paid Master-Mate ( German  assistant to the sailing master ), the specialist career for navigation and seamanship in the Royal Navy. If one opted for the latter, which was not considered an appropriate position for a gentleman , it therefore increased the probability of being considered subordinate to an officer position among the Passed Midshipman .

From 1840 officer training in the Royal Navy was reorganized. Officer candidates now received a two-year school education as cadets between the ages of 13 and 14. They were then trained for another year while sailing on a training ship . After three years promoted to midshipman , this was followed by at least two years of sea voyage on a warship, combined with further training. After five years of training and at least 19 years of age, they were able to take the lieutenant examination. They were then promoted to sub-lieutenant and were able to study at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich from 1873 .

Around 1900, school education was increased to up to four years. From 1913, due to the higher number of officers required, graduates from public schools were hired as special entry cadets for the first time . After six months of school training, they could begin their training on board as midshipmen . The previous training course at a multi-year naval school for young cadets was retained as a common entry . These two training courses for officer candidates were maintained until after the Second World War . In 1955, the starting age for officer candidates was raised to 18 and they were required to have an advanced level diploma in two subjects. In 1957, long-term seafaring as a midshipman ceased and in 1972 the rank of cadet was abolished and all officer candidates have been called midshipmen since then.

In the Royal Navy today, the midshipman is the only rank in training as an officer. According to the NATO rank he is classified as OF-1 and thus represents the lowest officer rank. As a note, however, it is noted in the rank that he is subordinate to all other ranks with OF-1, which refers to the position as an officer in training. The prerequisite for employment is a school leaving certificate with an Advanced Level in two subjects. Candidates with a university degree were hired as sub-lieutenants until 2013, but since then they have only been hired as midshipmen and go through military training together with the other midshipmen. The military training begins at the Britannia Royal Naval College with thirty weeks of training in the basics of the profession as a naval officer, this includes an internship of several weeks on board a naval warship, in which tasks of a crew rank are performed. Midshipman in this phase are called Officer Cadet despite the rank until the end of the fleet internship . After this basic training, the prospective naval officers go into their special training for their first use and are promoted to sub-lieutenant during this time.

United States Navy

Midshipman Theodorus Mason around 1865
Midshipmen of the NROTC at Yale University
Badge of rank of the US midshipmen

By the mid-19th century, the United States Navy adopted the Royal Navy's training model. After several years of sea voyage, qualified seafarers were appointed midshipman and trained on board theoretically and practically as officers. After several incidents around 1850, it became apparent that this training model was no longer sufficient. In 1851 the four-year course at the United States Naval Academy was introduced. In the summer the Cadet Midshipman had to do internships on the ships of the Navy. Upon graduation, the graduates were promoted to midshipman , which corresponded to a Passed Midshipman in the Royal Navy. The Midshipman had the status of a warrant officer and were then appointed officer if necessary, from 1862 in the rank of Ensign as the lowest officer rank. From 1874, two years of seafaring time after graduating from the Naval Academy was required before being appointed midshipman, followed by an examination to become a warranted midshipman . From 1882 to 1902, the students at the Naval Academy were named Naval Cadet and promoted to midshipman with degrees . After that, the students were again renamed Midshipman . Since 1912, the Midshipman who graduated from the Naval Academy have received an officer's license and an appointment as Ensign . The minimum of two years at sea as a midshipman with the status of a warrant officer has been abolished.

The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) was introduced in 1926. From 1932 the US Marine Corps participated in this program. All applicants must since 2018 inclusion in the NROTC a three-week basic training ( English NROTC Indoctrination Program ) as Candidate midshipman at the Naval Station Great Lakes , in North Chicago , Lake County , Illinois through. Upon passing the course, you will be promoted to midshipman . Upon graduation from the civil university, they receive their officers' license and are appointed ensign in the US Navy or second lieutenant in the US Marines .

Midshipman is the grade of the students at the United States Merchant Marine Academy , founded in 1943 , the military academy of the United States Maritime Administration of the United States Department of Transportation in Kings Point , New York . The midshipman are prepared for a profession as a nautical officer , ship engineer or for the maritime industry. They are also candidate reserve officers for the United States Navy Reserve .

A midshipman's collar and sleeve badges vary from school year to school year and are worn on officers' uniforms. In the US higher education system , which generally lasts for four years, students of different grades have nicknames: first year students are called freshman with the rank of 4th class midshipman, sophomore with third class midshipman in the second year, junior in the third year as a midshipman 2nd class and in the fourth and final senior with the rank midshipman 1st class. Freshmen wear no badges on the collar, sophomores wear an anchor on the right collar, and juniors wear an anchor on either side of the collar. A student at the academy last year wears two anchors with an eagle above on both sides of the collar or an officer rank of the cadet corps as a badge . Midshipmen of the higher grades take on leadership functions within the cadet corps of the academies. In addition, they are often given an officer rank within the corps. B. Midshipman Commander. The midshipman officers who wear a small gold star and horizontal stripes on their epaulets to indicate their rank. The ranks of midshipman officers are the same as those of the US Navy Officer Corps, but the badges are different to avoid confusion. A midshipman ensign wears one stripe, while a midshipman captain wears six stripes as badges. The rights of the rank may only be exercised within the corps vis-à-vis other midshipmen; vis-à-vis third parties they remain in the position of a candidate officer and thus have no authority. Upon completion of studies and promotion to officer, the rank in the cadet corps expires.

Unlike candidate officers in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps and the United States Merchant Marine Academy, which are part of the reserve, the midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy of the Armed Forces are active soldiers and are subject to military jurisdiction. A midshipman at the Naval Academy is paid USD 1,088  per month. This amount is reduced by purchasing books and parts of uniform. Students in the NROTC program can receive a scholarship. All NROTC midshipmen receive the standard uniforms free of charge.

Officer candidates of the US Coast Guard and the officer candidate school of the US Navy do not receive the rank of midshipman but cadet or officer candidate .

Other states

Naval forces use the midshipman as a rank:

In the naval forces of most states, based on the rank designation midshipman in Anglophone armed forces, separate rank designations are used for marines during their training as officers. Some examples are given below:

literature

  • Brian Lavery: Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men, and Organization, 1793-1815 . Revised and Updated ed. Naval Institute Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-59114-612-4 (English).
  • Geoffrey Penn: Snotty: the story of the midshipman . 1st edition. Hollis & Carter, London 1957 (English).
  • Nathan Miller: The US Navy: a history . 1st edition. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1997, ISBN 1-55750-595-0 (English).

Web links

Commons : Midshipman  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Geoffrey Penn: Snotty: the story of the midshipman . 1st edition. Hollis & Carter, London 1957, pp. 3–4 (English).
  2. ^ Geoffrey Penn: Snotty: the story of the midshipman . 1st edition. Hollis & Carter, London 1957, pp. 8 (English).
  3. ^ Brian Lavery: Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men, and Organization, 1793-1815 . Revised and Updated ed. Naval Institute Press, 2012, ISBN 978-1-59114-612-4 , pp. 93 (English).
  4. ↑ Michael Lewis: A Social History of the Navy 1793-1815 . 1st edition. Greenhill Books, 2006, ISBN 978-1-86176-232-0 , pp. 146 (English).
  5. ^ Stanley Walter C Pack: Britannia at Dartmouth . the story of HMS Britannia and the Britannia royal naval college. 1st edition. Alvin Redman, 1966, p. 42-43 (English).
  6. ^ Stanley Walter C Pack: Britannia at Dartmouth . the story of HMS Britannia and the Britannia royal naval college. 1st edition. Alvin Redman, 1966, p. 195 (English).
  7. ↑ Davies, EL, Grove, EJ: The Royal Naval College Dartmouth: Seventy-five Years in Pictures, . Gieves & Hawkes Limited, Portsmouth 1980, ISBN 0-85997-462-6 , pp. 23 (English).
  8. ↑ STANAG 2116: NATO Codes for Grades of Military Personnel
  9. ^ Officer training. In: www.royalnavy.mod.uk. Royal Navy, accessed March 20, 2020 .
  10. ^ Nathan Miller: The US Navy: a history . 1st edition. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1997, ISBN 1-55750-595-0 , pp. 103 (English).
  11. ↑ a b Lewis Hamersly: A Naval Encyclopaedia . LR Hamersly & Company, Philadelphia 1881, p. 496 (English).
  12. ^ A Brief History of USNA. In: www.usna.edu. United States Naval Academy, accessed March 20, 2020 .
  13. ↑ About. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .
  14. ↑ New Student Indoctrination. In: Naval Service Training Command Officer Development. Retrieved October 7, 2019 .