What is it about?
Analysis of a survey of an anchorage for the British Mediterranean fleet in 1798 reveals the challenges of such work with the limited instrumentation available, and the distortions which could arise.
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Why is it important?
The operation which is described in this article got underway as Nelson was sent into the Mediterranean to track down the French fleet. He would lament his lack of frigates with which to scout ahead for the enemy. The allocation of one of these scarce assets to hydrographic work indicates the importance which St Vincent placed on the acquisition of such intelligence.
Perspectives
This article enabled me to examine this incident in more depth than is possible in a forthcoming book describing the emergence of the Royal Naval Surveying Service during and after the wars of 1793-1815.
Captain RN Michael Kenneth Barritt
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: An Offshore Hydrographic Survey by the Royal Navy in 1798, The Mariner s Mirror, October 2017, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/00253359.2017.1376485.
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