Comments by "Ben Wilson" (@benwilson6145) on "The Drydock - Episode 081" video.

  1. The need to correct the Magnetic Compass predates Iron or Steel Ships. Captain Flinders wrote a treatise on the subject and a bar of mild steel was place ahead of the Compass Binnacle known as the Flinders Bar. this was to compensate for any iron fittings including cannons fitted in the ship. With the introduction of Iron and then Steel ships more compensation was need to mainly compensate for the magnetism built into the ship during construction. The great inventor Lord Kelvin used two soft iron spheres at each side of the compass, generally known as Lord Kelvins Ball's with additional hard magnets within the Compass Binnacle. The ship when new at at regular intervals requires to be swung and the magnetic's adjusted.
    26
  2. The Battle of Basque Roads is a naval action where the very best of the Royal Navy is shown in Cochrane's actions and the worst in Admiral Gambiers and later the Admiralty's actions.
    6
  3. No, one was lost in mysterious circumstances off PNG in WW1, the other was lost in the Dardanelles also in WW!
    2
  4. Should be munitions ship
    1
  5.  CipiRipi00  You can buy a chart of the world showing magnetic variation and its rate of change.
    1