The grade of vice admiral (or three-star admiral) is ordinarily the second-highest in the peacetime United States Navy, ranking above rear admiral and below admiral.
The grade of vice admiral was originally created to honor particularly successful Union Navy flag officers of the American Civil War. Between World War I and World War II, dozens of officers cycled through three designated vice admiral billets in the United States Fleet, holding the rank temporarily before reverting to their permanent grade of rear admiral upon relinquishing command. Dozens of temporary vice admirals were appointed during World War II alone, and by January 1, 1960, the Navy register listed 28 line officers as vice admirals on the active list in the peacetime Navy.
Many rear admirals received honorary tombstone promotions to vice admiral when they retired, having been specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat before the end of World War II, but only a handful were ever recalled to active duty in that grade. Tombstone promotions were abolished effective November 1, 1959.
Taxonomy
A permanent vice admiral was an officer who was confirmed by the Senate to hold the permanent grade of vice admiral, which the officer retained regardless of assignment. Appointments to this permanent grade on the active list were only authorized between 1866 and 1873, and all subsequent appointments were on the retired list.Acts of December 21, 1874 (); July 25, 1866 (); and January 24, 1873 (). Chisholm, pp. 311-313, 349-353. A designated vice admiral was an officer who was designated by the President to hold the temporary rank of vice admiral while serving in a billet carrying that ex officio rank, and who reverted to a lower permanent grade upon vacating that billet. From 1915 to 1947, such designations were at the sole discretion of the President, and did not require Senate confirmation, unlike the temporary vice admirals of World War II and later. The category was eliminated by the Officer Personnel Act of 1947, which required all vice admiral appointments to be confirmed by the Senate.Acts of March 3, 1915 (); May 22, 1917 (); July 17, 1941 (); and August 7, 1947 [Officer Personnel Act of 1947] (). Chisholm, pp. 763-764. Congressional Record (June 30, 1941), Vol. 87, Part 1, p. 5727. A temporary vice admiral was an officer who was confirmed by the Senate to hold the temporary grade of vice admiral under some condition, such as while serving in a particular job or for the duration of the World War II national emergency, reverting to a lower permanent grade when the condition was over.Acts of July 24, 1941 () and August 7, 1947 [Officer Personnel Act of 1947] ().
A civil engineer/medical director/naval constructor with rank of vice admiral was an officer in the Civil Engineer Corps/Medical Corps/Construction Corps with the title of civil engineer/medical director/naval constructor and the rank of vice admiral, prior to 1947. Each staff corps originally had its own hierarchy of titles to describe relative seniority within the corps. Staff corps titles were abolished by the Officer Personnel Act of 1947, and all officers thereafter had the same title as their rank.Act of August 7, 1947 [Officer Personnel Act of 1947] ().
A tombstone vice admiral was a rear admiral who retired with the rank but not the pay of the next higher grade as a reward for being specially commended for the performance of duty in actual combat before the end of World War II. Most such officers never served as vice admirals while on active duty. Tombstone promotions were abolished in 1959.Acts of March 4, 1925 (); July 17, 1941 (); June 6, 1942 (); August 7, 1947 [Officer Personnel Act of 1947] (); October 12, 1949 [Career Compensation Act of 1949] (); and August 11, 1959 ().
List of U.S. Navy vice admirals on active duty before 1960
This is a complete list of officers who held the rank of vice admiral while on active duty in the United States Navy before January 1, 1960, including officers who received a tombstone promotion to vice admiral if they were recalled to active duty in that rank.
Entries are indexed by the numerical order in which each officer became a vice admiral on the active list, or by an asterisk (*) if the officer served in that rank only after transferring to the retired list. Each entry lists the officer's name, date appointed,Dates appointed are taken from U.S. Naval Officers, Vice Admiral and Above, 1864–1963. date the officer vacated the active-duty rank,Dates vacated are taken from U.S. Naval Officers, Vice Admiral and Above, 1864–1963. An officer could vacate the active-duty rank of vice admiral via death, retirement, promotion, or reversion to a lower permanent grade upon relinquishing an office designated to carry the rank of vice admiral. number of years of service as vice admiral (Yrs),The number of years on active duty as vice admiral is taken to be the number of days rounded to the nearest whole year and excluding any gaps in appointment. positions held as vice admiral,Positions are compiled from the Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, Modern Biographical Files, Generals of the Army and the Air Force and Admirals of the Navy, Ancell and Miller, Cogar, Schuon, and Marquis Who's Who. and other biographical notes.Biographical notes include years of birth and death; any staff corps affiliation or line officer designation as naval aviation observer, naval aviator, or engineering duty officer; dates of promotion to higher rank; awards of the Medal of Honor, Congressional Gold Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, or honors of similar significance; major government appointments; university presidencies or equivalents; familial relationships with significant military officers or significant government officials such as U.S. Presidents, cabinet secretaries, U.S. Senators, or state governors; and other unusual career events such as death in office or resignation.
Italics denote active duty as vice admiral while on the retired list.
The list is sortable by active-duty appointment order, last name, date appointed, date vacated, and number of years on active duty as vice admiral.
Name PhotoDate appointedDate vacatedYrsPositionNotes Commander, West Gulf Blockading Squadron, 1862–1865. Commander, Naval Forces, James River, 1865. President, Board of Visitors, U.S. Naval Academy, 1865–1866.(1801–1870) Promoted to admiral, 25 Jul 1866. Brother-by-adoption of Navy admiral David D. Porter Jr. Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy, 1865–1869. Special duty, Navy Department, 1869–1870.(1813–1891) Promoted to admiral, 15 Aug 1870. Brother-by-adoption of Navy admiral David G. Farragut. President, Board of Visitors, U.S. Naval Academy, 1871. Port Admiral, New York City/Commandant, New York Navy Yard, 1872–1876. Port Admiral, New York City, 1876–1877. President, Board of Examiners, 1877–1880. Member, Board of Visitors, U.S. Naval Academy, 1880–1881. Governor, Philadelphia Naval Asylum, 1881–1882. Superintendent, U.S. Naval Observatory, 1882–1883. Chairman, Lighthouse Board, 1883–1889.(1808–1890) Second in command, Atlantic Fleet, 1915–1916.(1857–1937)Retired as rear admiral; advanced on the retired list to admiral by Act of June 21, 1930, as highest World War I rank. Promoted to admiral, 19 Jun 1916. Governor, U.S. Naval Home, 1924–1928. Second in command, Atlantic Fleet, 1916–1918.(1876–1932)Retired as rear admiral; advanced on the retired list to vice admiral by Act of June 21, 1930, as highest World War I rank. Commander, U.S. Destroyers Operating from British Bases, 1917. Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 1917–1919.(1858–1936) Promoted to admiral, 4 Dec 1918. President, Naval War College, 1917; 1919–1922. Awarded Pulitzer Prize for History, 1921. Commander, Battleship Force 1, Atlantic Fleet, 1917–1919.(1856–1930) Commander, Battleship Force 2, Atlantic Fleet, 1918–1919.(1861–1954) Promoted to admiral, 30 Jun 1919. Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy, 1921–1925. Father-in-law of U.S. Secretary of War Patrick J. Hurley. Commander, Cruiser and Transport Force, Atlantic Fleet, 1918–1919.(1858–1937) Promoted to admiral, 1 Sep 1919. Governor, U.S. Naval Home, 1928–1931. 10 Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet, 1918–1919. Commander, Division 1, Asiatic Fleet, 1919–1920.(1860–1944) Son of Navy rear admiral John Rodgers; grandson of Navy commodore John Rodgers. 11 Commander, Battleship Force 4, Pacific Fleet, 1919–1921.(1863–1951)Retired as rear admiral; advanced on the retired list to vice admiral by Act of June 21, 1930, as highest World War I rank; advanced on the retired list to admiral by Act of June 16, 1942, as highest rank held while commanding a fleet or subdivision of a fleet for at least one year. Promoted to admiral, 14 Oct 1925. President, Naval War College, 1922–1925. 12 Commander, Battleship Force 2, Atlantic Fleet, 1919–1921.(1865–1939) Promoted to admiral, 30 Jun 1921. 13 Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in European Waters, 1920.(1856–1928)Retired as rear admiral. 14 Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in European Waters, 1920–1921.(1858–1942) Awarded Medal of Honor, 1914. 15 Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in European Waters, 1921–1922.(1859–1929) Director of Naval Intelligence, 1919–1920; Director, International Hydrographic Bureau, 1927–1929. 16 Commander, Battleship Force 2, Atlantic Fleet, 1921–1922. Commander, Scouting Fleet, 1922–1923.(1862–1952) 17 Commander, Battleship Force 4, Pacific Fleet, 1921–1922.