[ARC5] command set trivia

[D C _Mac_ Macdonald]

In the Navy, "Captain" is both a rank and a position.

Captain is usually the rank of the commanding officer (Captain) of major capital ships.
Technically, any officer below the rank of Captain could be the "Captain" of a smaller ship.

I suppose that probably a "cruiser" would probably have either a Commander or Lt Commander as its "Captain" with Lt Commander for "Captain" of destroyers and ships of like size.

Basically, the smaller the ship (or boat) the lower the rank of its "Captain."  Lieutenants were frequently the "Captain" on PT Boats and other small vessels.

 
* * * * * * * * * * * 
* 73 - Mac, K2GKK/5 * 
* (Since 30 Nov 53) * 
* k2gkk at hotmail.com * 
* Oklahoma City, OK * 
* USAF & FAA (Ret.) * 
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> Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2013 09:20:56 -0700
> From: coolbrucelong at yahoo.com
> To: gewhite at crosslink.net; ARC5 at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [ARC5] command set trivia
> 
> It seems strange to me a naval officer in 1938-39 would move from being the inspector of an important but still very small defense contractor right into command of a capital ship. 
> Not saying it is not true but what am I missing here?  I understand the US military was very small pre-war but IIRC the naval buildup preceded Pearl Harbor by a couple of years.
> Was Van Valkenburgh possibly a captain on the US Arizona but not the commanding officer?
> 
> Can anybody shed any light on this?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Thursday, October 10, 2013 6:05 PM, Gordon White <gewhite at crosslink.net> wrote:
> 
> When I was researching the Command Sets I found one Franklin Van 
> Valkenburgh, Capt., USN,  was the Inspector of Naval Material in New 
> York, in 1938-39, responsible for Aircraft Radio Corp production. (this 
> research was in the 1960s) As was my practice, I attempted to locate 
> Capt. Van Valkenburgh in case he might add to my knowledge. 
> Unfortunately, his next assignment was as commanding officer of the USS 
> Arizona.......
> 
>   - Gordon White