British Empire Article

Astro Fix by Trevor Powell of the 89th Field Survey Squadron, R.E.

A typical Astro Fix crew consisted of three surveyors, three drivers (one ofwhich would be a mechanic if possible) and three vehicles (a Land Rover, a Morris one-tonner carry ing compo rations and a Bedford RL three-tonner carry ing drinking water and petrol in 4 1/2 gallon jerry cans and perhaps 44-gallon drums. An Astro Fix (determ ination of latitude and longitude at the point where the observations to the stars were made), would last on average from three to four days, with observations over two or three nights of about 5 to 6 hours a night. The computations were carried out during the day. (Now, someone who knows nothing about survey ing, let alone astronomy, armed with a GPS costing a few hundred pounds, can achieve a far more accurate result in a few minutes.) The crew would stay in the bush for anything from a week to three weeks before returning to base camp for rest and replenishment. Photograph courtesy of Trevor Powell

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