| Ranks |
| Adm |
Admiral |
| VAdm |
Vice Admiral |
| RAdm |
Rear Admiral |
| Capt |
Captain |
| Cdr |
Commander |
| LtCdr |
Lieutenant Commander |
| Lt |
Lieutenant |
| Lt(jg) |
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) |
| Ens |
Ensign |
| Mid |
Midshipman |
| CWO |
Chief Warrant Officer |
| WO |
Warrant Officer |
| PO1 |
1st Class Petty Officer |
| PO2 |
2nd Class Petty Officer |
| Cmdr ? |
commanding officer unknown |
| Resv |
Reserve Officer |
| (M) |
Civilian Merchantile Officer |
| Japanese Naval Air Positions |
| Hiko-cho |
Commander, (Naval) Air Group |
| Hikotai-cho |
Leader, (Naval) Air Group (carrier-based) |
| Kokutai-cho |
Leader, Air Group (land-based) |
| Buntai-cho |
Flight Leader |
| Misc. |
| AA |
Anti-Aircraft |
| AAB |
Army Air Base |
| AAMG |
Antiaircraft Machine Gun |
| Ammo |
Ammunition |
| ARC |
Prefix for Columbian Navy's ship
(Armada de la República de Colombia) |
| Bty |
Battery |
| CAP |
Combat Air Patrol |
| CarRon |
Aircraft Carrier Squadron |
| CNS |
Chinese Navy Ship |
| CO |
Commanding Officer |
| CoS |
Chief-of-Staff |
| Co. |
Company |
| Cons |
Construction |
| Det |
Detachment |
| DesDiv |
Destroyer Division |
| DesRon |
Destroyer Squadron |
| DOW |
Died of Wounds |
| (F) |
Flagship |
| (FF) |
Fleet/Force Flagship |
| FAA |
Fleet Air Arm (British Royal Navy) |
| GGM |
Netherlands East Indies Colonial Government Navy (Gemilitariseerde Gouvernementsmarine) |
| G.m.s |
Prefix for Netherlands East Indies Colonial Government's ship (Gouvernements Marine Schip) |
| GRT |
Gross Registered Tonnage [ External Link to Wiki ] |
| HMG |
Heavy Machine Gun |
| HMS |
Prefix for British Royal Navy ship (His Majesty's Ship) |
| Hqs |
Headquarters |
| HrMs |
Prefix for Royal Dutch Navy ships (Harer Majesteits) |
| Hvy |
Heavy |
| KIA |
Killed in Action |
| KPM |
Dutch shipping company in Netherlands East Indies
(Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij) |
| LMG |
Light Machine Gun |
| Maru |
Merchant Ship, also when requisitioned by IJA or IJN |
| MMG |
Medium Machine Gun |
| NAB |
Naval Air Base |
| NAG |
Naval Air Group |
| NAF |
Naval Air Flotilla |
| NAS |
Naval Air Station |
| NEI |
Netherlands East Indies (Netherlands Colonial Indonesia) |
| N.I.T. |
Netherlands East Indies Steam Tanker Co.
(Nederlandsch-Indische Tankstoomboot Mij.) |
| NLF |
Naval Landing Force (provisional unit, usually comprising part of the named ship's crew) |
| nm |
nautical mile(s) [Internal Link] |
| NSB |
Naval Seaplane Base |
| RFA |
Royal Fleet Auxiliary |
| RN |
Abbreviation for Royal Navy. Note the prefix for the Royal Navy' ships was "HMS" (His Majesty's Ship) |
| RN |
Prefix for Italain Navy ship (Regia Nave) |
| ROCS |
Republic of China Ship |
| RS |
Prefix for Italain Navy submarine (Regio Sottomarino) |
| sea truck |
Ships that are less than 500 GRT and have no names (or names not found.) |
| SBF |
Special Base Force |
| SCAJAP |
Shipping Control Authority for Japanese Merchant Marine (Post-war US Navy control organ of all ships over 100 gross tons operated by the Japanese.) |
| SMN |
Netherlands Steamship Company (Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland) |
| SNLF |
Special Naval Landing Force (IJN Naval Infantry) |
| Sqdn |
Squadron |
| S/S |
Steamship; also defined as Screw Steamer.
Civilian merchant marine vessel |
| SubDiv |
Submarine Division |
| SubRon |
Submarine Squadron |
| USAT |
US Army Transport |
| XO |
Executive Officer |
