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Hydrographer of the Navy

TheHydrographer of the Navyis the principalhydrographicalRoyal Naval appointment. From 1795 until 2001, the post was responsible for the production of charts for theRoyal Navy,and around this post grew theUnited Kingdom Hydrographic Office(UKHO).

Hydrographer of the Navy
Incumbent
Rear Admiral Angus Essenhigh
since 2023
Ministry of Defence
Reports toFirst Sea Lord
NominatorAdmiralty Board
AppointerSecretary of State for Defence
Term length1–4 years
Inaugural holderAlexander Dalrymple
Formation12 August 1795(229 years ago)(1795-08-12)

In 2001, the post was disassociated from UKHO, and the Hydrographer of the Navy is now a title bestowed upon the current captain—hydrography and meteorology—on the staff of theDevonport FlotillaatHMNB Devonport.

History

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Before the establishment of the post, captains ofRoyal Navy shipswere responsible for the provision of their own charts. In practice this meant that ships often sailed with inadequate information for safe navigation, and that when new areas were surveyed, the data rarely reached all those who needed it. TheAdmiraltyappointedAlexander Dalrympleas hydrographer on 12 August 1795, with a remit to gather and distribute charts to HM Ships. Within a year existing charts had been collated, and the first catalogue published. It was five years before the first chart—ofQuiberon BayinBrittany—was produced by the Hydrographer.[1]

Under Dalrymple's successor, CaptainThomas Hurd,Admiralty charts were sold to the general public, and by 1825, there were 736 charts listed in the catalogue. In 1829, the firstSailing Directionswere published, and in 1833, under Rear-Admiral SirFrancis Beaufort—of the eponymousBeaufort scale—thetide tableswere first published.Notices to Marinerscame out in 1834, allowing for the timely correction of charts already in use. Beaufort was certainly responsible for a step change in output; by the time he left the office in 1855, the Hydrographic Office had a catalogue of nearly 2,000 charts and was producing over 130,000 charts, of which about half were provided to the Royal Navy and half sold.[1]

In 1939, on the outbreak ofWorld War II,the Hydrographic Office moved toTaunton,and the post of hydrographer moved with it. In 2001, a chief executive was appointed to run theUnited Kingdom Hydrographic Officeas a profit-making agency of the British government, and at this time the roles of National Hydrographer and Hydrographer of the Navy were divided.[1]The title of hydrographer devolved to Captain (hydrography and meteorology), a senior officer on the staff of the Commodore of theDevonport Flotilla,and the senior Royal Navy officer within the HM branch. As of 2010,the post has been renamed Captain (HM Ops), but continues to carry the title Hydrographer of the Navy.

List of hydrographers

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^abc"The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office timeline"(PDF).UKHO. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-07-21.Retrieved2011-01-23.
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