Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)

Please see "lieutenant general" for other countries which use this rank

Lieutenant general (Lt Gen), formerly more commonly lieutenant-general, is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines, although the highest-ranking officer in the Royal Marines core structure at present is major general. It has a NATO code of OF-8, and is the equivalent of a multinational three-star rank; some British lieutenant generals sometimes wear three-star insignia, in addition to their standard insignia, when on multinational operations.

Lieutenant general is a superior rank to major general, but subordinate to a (full) general. The rank has a NATO rank code of OF-8, equivalent to a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy and an air marshal in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries.

The rank insignia for both the Army and the Royal Marines is a crown over a crossed sabre and baton. Since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the St Edward's Crown, commonly known as the Queen's Crown, has been depicted. Prior to 1953, the Tudor Crown, commonly known as the King's Crown was used.

British Army usage

Lieutenant General John Cooper wearing both three-star insignia and British lieutenant general insignia

Ordinarily, lieutenant general is the rank held by the officer in command of an entire battlefield corps. The General Officer Commanding NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps is a British lieutenant general. Historically, I Corps and II Corps were commanded by British lieutenant generals. Additionally, three lieutenant general appointments also exist within the extant British Army's Headquarters. They are the Commander Land Forces, the Adjutant-General and the Commander Force Development and Training. The Chief of Materiel (Land) in Defence Equipment and Support (double-hatted as the Quartermaster-General to the Forces) also holds the rank.

Royal Marines usage

Although the senior appointment in the Royal Marines, the Commandant General, has held the lower rank of major general since 1996, prior to this date the Commandant General was a lieutenant general or full general. However, as a few more senior positions in the British Armed Forces are open to officers from different services, Royal Marines officers can and do reach the rank of lieutenant general, being posted to Joint Forces or MOD postings. Examples include Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Fry, Lieutenant-General Sir James Dutton or Lieutenant-General Sir David Capewell.

Royal Air Force usage

From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919, the Royal Air Force maintained the rank of lieutenant general. It was superseded by the rank of air marshal on the following day. Although Sir David Henderson was an RAF lieutenant general, the then RAF Chief-of-Staff, Sir Hugh Trenchard never held this rank. Additionally, the retired Royal Navy admiral, John de Mestre Hutchison, held an honorary RAF commission in the rank of lieutenant general.

The RAF lieutenant general rank insignia was similar to the naval rank insignia for a vice-admiral, with a broad band of gold being worn on the cuff with two narrower bands above it. Unlike the naval insignia the RAF lieutenant general insignia did not have an executive curl.

References

NATO rank code / Service branch	student officer	OF-1		OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6 ★	OF-7 ★★	OF-8 ★★★	OF-9 ★★★★	OF-10 ★★★★★
Royal Navy	OC	Midshipman	Sub-Lt	Lt	Lt Cdr	Cdr	Capt	Cdre	RAdm	VAdm	Admiral	Adm of the Fleet
Royal Marines	OCdt	2Lt	Lt	Capt	Major	Lt Col	Colonel	Brig	Maj-Gen	Lt-Gen	General	Captain-General
British Army	OCdt	2Lt	Lt	Capt	Major	Lt Col	Colonel	Brig	Maj-Gen	Lt-Gen	General	Field marshal
Royal Air Force	Off Cdt / SO	APO / Plt Off	Fg Off	Flt Lt	Sqn Ldr	Wg Cdr	Gp Capt	Air Cdre	AVM	Air Mshl	Air Chf Mshl	Mshl of the RAF
lists	rear admirals vice admirals admirals RM full generals Army full generals air chief marshals female senior officers