There were no exact rules for reaching this rank from the rank of Korvettenkapitän. During the war it was usually at least 18 months.

The Fregattenkapitän wore the braid shoulder-strap with one star (see left), the Fregattenkapitän (Ing.) has a cog-wheel on the shoulder-strap.

They had a broader stripe on the shade of cap. On the sleeve they wear three broad strips, between the second and the third stripe was a narrow one and the star at the top (engineer officers also wore the cog-wheel).

A Fregattenkapitäns jacket

Fregattenkapitän Karl-Friedrich Merten (left)
Commander of the 24th Flotilla.