German and US navies ranks

Anything about the crew, families, origins, etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
frontkampfer
Member
Posts: 249
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 2:35 am
Location: Phillipsburg, NJ - USA

German and US navies ranks

Post by frontkampfer »

Is there a table of rank equivalents between the German and US navies during WWII? My father was a FC2 (Fire Controlman 2nd class) on the USS Missouri for the 16in guns and I would like to know ther German equivalent. Any help appreciated!
User avatar
RF
Senior Member
Posts: 7760
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:15 pm
Location: Wolverhampton, ENGLAND

Post by RF »

I believe there is a table of German, British and US military ranks on the feldgrau website, but as I haven't been able to access this site for sometime I don't know if it is still there.
''Give me a Ping and one Ping only'' - Sean Connery.
crew33
Supporter
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 2:04 am
Location: Lanham, MD, USA

Post by crew33 »

I believe the appropriate Kriegsmarine equivalent for the USN Fireman, 2nd Class, is Maschinenobergefreiter. I compiled a listing of Kriegsmarine, USN, and RN rank equivalents for my book Neither Sharks Nor Wolves: The Men of Nazi Germany's U-Boat Arm 1939-1945; I relied on original U.S. Navy and Royal Navy reports of interrogations of captured U-boat crewmen that provided these rank equivalents.
Tim Mulligan
User avatar
José M. Rico
Administrator
Posts: 1008
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:23 am
Location: Madrid, Spain
Contact:

Re: GERMAN/US RANK EQUIVALENTS

Post by José M. Rico »

frontkampfer wrote:Is there a table of rank equivalents between the German and US navies during WWII? My father was a FC2 (Fire Controlman 2nd class) on the USS Missouri for the 16in guns and I would like to know ther German equivalent.
Have you checked the table of ranks here on this site?

http://www.kbismarck.com/ranks.html

I think the Kriegsmarine equivalent for FC2 (Fire Controlman 2nd class) is Marineartilleriegefreiter.
User avatar
frontkampfer
Member
Posts: 249
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 2:35 am
Location: Phillipsburg, NJ - USA

GERMAN/US RANK EQUIVALENT

Post by frontkampfer »

I did check that table and saw the rank of Oberfeuerwerksmaat. Would that include gunners (men who service the guns). I kind of thought that it would be Marineartilleriegefreiter too. The Maschinenobergefreiter would be a machinist I would assume.

I am sure the germans would have had to have this kind of rank/position even on their smaller surface ships such as destroyers. If there was a gun directory on a ship there had to be fire control.

My dad always said that the german capital ships like Bismarck, Tirpitz and even Prinz Eugen were very close in design to the Iowa's. Thanks for all who responded!
User avatar
trapperP
Junior Member
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:01 pm

Re: German and US navies ranks

Post by trapperP »

In the US Navy, a Fire Control Man was responsible for the maintanence and operation of the equipment that 'aimed the guns or the torpedos as the case might be. I was an FT[M] 2 this being a Fire Control Techhnician, Missiles. The rating was changed from FC to FT sometime after WWII and was then further divided into 3 categories, these being FT[G] (Guns) FT[M] (Missiles) and finally, FT (Underwater) I'm not really sure about today but I believe the FC rating has been restored - not really sure about the classifications within the rating.
IF possible, tell your father I would die a happy man if I could just one time run the systems to lay one broadside with those 16" guns. Did you know that the FC 'computer' for those guns actually calulated and corrected for the pull of the moon's gravitational pull while the projectile was in flight?
I checked with my nephew and the present day US Navy has both the FC and the FT. The FC rate is concerned with the electronics - computers, etc. - while the FT works on the mechanical devices - directors, etc. As an FT in the 60's we worked on all of it but did not have so much in the way of electronics as now.

Image
The Fire Controlman [FC] rating badge.
Image
The Fire Control Technican [FT] rating badge.
Post Reply