From Plane Table to
Satellites:
The Changing Role of
Technology in Military
Mapping over 100years Dr Dennis Puniard
Lecturer
Faculty of Business Government and Law
University of Canberra
Major(R), Royal Australian Survey Corps
Chronology
100 years of Military Mapping
Era Key Activities
1915-18 WWI , Formation of RA Svy Corps ex Engr Corps
1920-1939 Early Australian Mapping
1939-45 WWII - Middle East and the Pacific
1946-1970 Mapping Australia, Vietnam War
1971-1996 Mapping Australia , PNG, Indonesia
1997-2015 RA Svy absorbed into Engr Corps
Retains mapping capacity through 1 Div Topo and AGO
Timor Leste, Iraq, Afganistan
Technology Milestones
100 years of Military Mapping
Era Technology
1915-18 Plane Table, Triangulation Surveys
1920-1939 Field mapping , first air photos(RAAF)
1939-45 Emergency wartime mapping, Australia and the
Pacific (especially PNG)
Aerial photography
1946-1970 Photogrammetry, Start of digital mapping, Electronic
Distance Measuring(EDM) (Tellurometers)
1971-1996 Satellite Positioning (Geoceivers), Automated map
production (AUTOMAP), orthophotos, Geographic
Information Systems, Satellite imagery
1997-2015 RA Svy absorbed into Engr Corps
Retains mapping capacity through 1 Div Topo and AGO
Military GIS, Remote Sensing and image analysis
Technology Milestones
100 years of Military Mapping
Era Field Survey/
Topo Mapping
Cartography Reproduction and
Distribution/Litho
1915-18 Plane Table,
Triangulation Surveys
1920-1939 First Air photos, Photo
mosaics
Mulitplex plotters,
Fair drawing
Early Litho
(outsourced?
1939-45 Emergency mapping,
aerial photogrpahy,
Fair drawing
Large format reproduction
cameras
Lithographic presses
1946-1970 Aerodist,
EDM,
Photogrammetry, Start of
digital mapping
Full litho capability
from cameras to
printing
1971-1996 Geoceivers
GPS
Automap I, II, Parare
GIS, Satellite imagery
Paper and Digital
1997-2015 RA Svy disbanded Military GIS, Remote
Sensing and image analysis
Mostly digital
World War I per Lt Col Peter Jensen ACT Survey Corps Newsletter 2015
Technical methods were:
trigonometric survey by geodetic triangulation,
topographic survey by plane table,
colour separated fair drawing by ink draughting on linen from the plane table sheets,
lithographic photography print preparation and printing by the Victorian Government Printer supervised by the draughting sub-section.
In the operational areas Intelligence updates were routinely overprinted on the operations maps by the deployed GHQ Printing Section which used hand-powered lithographic presses for printing panoramas, sketch maps and diagrams before the landings and topographical and trench maps afterwards.
Plane Table field work
required survey marks of
known coordinates
Accurate base lines
(gunter’s chain/steel
band)
and
triangulation with vernier
theodolites
supplemented by
Astronomical observations
Plane table worked on intersection
methods of field survey
Detail points observed from several
survey stations
Large Vernier
Theodolite
used for triangulation
and astro fixes
Engineer corps museum donated to
RA Svy from Indonesian Mapping
Bakosurtanal
Height determination by first order
leveling and aneroid barometers First order level Engineer Museum Holdsworthy
Capt Thomas Alexander Vance
1938
Visited many civilian and military mapping organisations in
the United States and Canada,
formed the view that the Australian Survey Corps work
compared very favourably ‘both in accuracy and cost’ to
anything done in North America.
noted the range of knowledge and competence of
Australian Survey Corps personnel was much broader
than their counterparts in North America
Wewak
13 September
1945
General Adachi
surrenders to
Maj Gen Robertson
COC 6th Australian
Division
Only 11000 jap
soldiers survived out
of 104 000 deployed
Vietnam 1966
Extract From: DET 1ST TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY TROOP
OPERATION ORDER 1/66
3.EXEC a. General outline
NUI DAT is to be co-ordinated by tellurometer measurement
and angle observation from the 1st order point"NOUVEAU
PHARE CAP ST JACQUES" GR 279 428.
In carrying out this task, the reliability of the control point is
to be tested by connexion between three known control
points in the VUNG TAU area and by the introduction into t h
e observed figure of astronomical azimuths.