How the complete photographic series of the Beaufort Scale photo was obtained in 1956

This is the complete photographic series of the Beaufort Scale covering the wind forces from 1-12 published in 1959. What's more interesting perhaps is how the photographs were obtained.... 

In January 1958 the Marine Observer invited readers to send in photos of the sea under the influence of each of the Beaufort Forces. They asked that the photographs should be taken in the open sea after the wind had been blowing long enough to raise the appropriate sea, and that the date and time, the lat. and long. of the ship, the direction and force of the wind and the height of the photographer above the sea, should all be stated.

By April 1959, they had photos of the forces from 1 to 10 but up to that time, none submitted for forces 11 and 12. That is until the H.M.T.S. Monarch stepped in and submitted force 11 and 12 photos taken during the laying of the trans-Atlantic telephone cable! The entire series was published for the Met Office's 'State of Sea' card and 'The Coastguard' magazine in August 1959 to assist observers assess the force of the wind by the appearance of the sea.

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