Real WWII Nav Accuracy

Pisces · 12-24-08, 07:47 AM

It's time for Don1reed to show up again. He usually does when this subject rears its head.

For the time being, ... and for what it's worth, as I never used a real sextant:

I think that 5 to 15 miles would be the deadreckoning accuracy after long periods without star fixes. Not the sextant/celestial navigation accuracy. That would depend in a large part on the measurement resolution of the sextant. As 1 arcminute is about 1 nautical mile on the surface it depends on how fine the readout is. Ofcourse it also depends on how steady the sextant is held by the navigator.

12-24-08, 07:47 AM	#6
Pisces Silent Hunter Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: AN9771 Posts: 4,904 Downloads: 304 Uploads: 0	It's time for Don1reed to show up again. He usually does when this subject rears its head. For the time being, ... and for what it's worth, as I never used a real sextant: I think that 5 to 15 miles would be the deadreckoning accuracy after long periods without star fixes. Not the sextant/celestial navigation accuracy. That would depend in a large part on the measurement resolution of the sextant. As 1 arcminute is about 1 nautical mile on the surface it depends on how fine the readout is. Ofcourse it also depends on how steady the sextant is held by the navigator.