Kendall trials K3 Larcum Kendall manufactured a third further simplified marine timekeeper, K3. It was sent for trialling with Captain James Cook on his ill-fated voyage of 1776–1779. Like Kendall’s previous K2 timekeeper, K3 also failed to perform as well as John Harrison’s marine timekeepers, H1 to H4. K3 was fundamentally no better than than its predecessor, K2, thus failing to solve the problem of reliably and accurately determining longitude at sea. In her book, Longitude, science writer Dava Sobel provides a full history of the dramatic quest to solve the problem of longitude. You can also read an account Harrison’s trials and tribulations on Clocktime. Reference Sobel, D. 2011. Longitude: The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time. London: Harper Perennial. Image Credit Larcum Kendall's K3, 1774. ID: ZAA0111. Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0, https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-79216
