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Hi! I just saw this on the Wiki page for John Harrison, the horologist who invented the chronometer:

Harrison moved on to develop H2[7], a more compact and rugged version. In 1741, after three years of building and two of on-land testing, H2 was ready, but by then Britain was at war with Spain in the War of Austrian Succession and the mechanism was deemed too important to risk falling into Spanish hands.

Suppose the British decide to test the chronometer anyway, thinking that its ability to provide accurate longitude calculations (assuming it works) could be an asset to fighting the Spanish and closing in on Spanish ports. It is placed on a warship with instructions on how to operate it (in encrypted English) and the captain is ordered to destroy it rather than let it fall into Spanish hands. Harrison is left in England and will be issued reports on how well H2 is doing.

Well, the Spanish attack the ship, shoot a cannonball into captain's quarters, and kill the captain before he can destroy the machine. They then board the ship and walk away with the machine. They assume it is some kind of fancy clock and take it home as booty. Eventually, they realize it's a marine chronometer and find that they can use it for longitude calculations (though they don't realize how accurate it is at first).

The net result is the Spanish have H2 and the British have H1 (which is still under development). H3 is still under development.

Assume that both H1 and H2 provide longitude values with double the error range of H4 (the oversized pocket watch that won the longitude prize). Harrison didn't like H2 all that much, but second-rate to him would likely be first-rate to anyone else.
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