“Fleet Admiral” is the title used in world’s Navies for the highest ranking senior officer of the fleet. It is a five-star naval rank equivalent to the General of the Air Force and the General of the Army in the United States. In Britain, it is called the “Admiral of the Fleet,” and is equivalent to a Field Marshal of the British Army and the Marshal of the Royal Air Force. In the German Kriegsmarine, the corresponding title is Grand Admiral. The rank equates to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) rank code OF-10.
In the United States, this rank was created only on December 14, 1944 under Public Law 78-482. It was only on a temporary basis at first. It was made permanent on March 23, 1946 by Public Law 79-333. The need for this position was due to the height of World War II.The following officers held the rank during and after the war:
William D. Leahy - December 15,1944
Ernest King - December 17, 1944
Chester Nimitz – December 19, 1944
William Halsey – December 11, 1945
Since the end of World War II, there have been no one appointed to the Fleet Admiral position in the US Navy; however, this rank is still listed as an official rank on insignia precedence charts. Some Navy documents state that this rank expired officially in 1966 upon the death of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. It could be reestablished or reenacted when there is a need to at the discretion of the Congress through another act.
The only Naval rank considered senior to Fleet Admiral according to US Naval tradition is the Admiral of the Navy. There is only one person in history to ever achieve this rank — George Dewey. This rank was awarded to him for his service in the Spanish-American War.
The insignia for Fleet Admiral of the US Navy is composed of a pentagon design with five stars, and a thick rank stripe under four smaller stripes.