Commodore was an appointment given to a captain for a particular command, marked by a pennant rather than an admiral's flag. Michael Clapp therefore remained substantively a captain while commanding the amphibious task group in 1982. If Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward became unavailable, succession depended on which captain was senior, rather than passing automatically to Clapp because he held the commodore appointment. Captain Coward is suggested as a possible senior captain, but that identification remains uncertain in this account. The Royal Navy later made commodore a substantive rank, removing the distinction between the appointment and the holder's underlying captain's rank.
Notable Point · 1:12:20-1:14:10
Why a commodore did not automatically succeed Woodward
Michael Clapp's Falklands command illustrates why a temporary commodore appointment did not necessarily confer seniority over other captains.