The ''Echo'' class is a class of multi-purpose hydrographic survey ships in commission with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

. The ships are primarily tasked with conducting survey work in support of submarine and amphibious operations, however, the class also has a secondary role in

mine countermeasures A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any v ...

. The two vessels of the class were the most recent additions to the Royal Navy's

Hydrographic Squadron Future planning of the Royal Navy's capabilities is set through periodic Defence Reviews carried out by the British Government. The Royal Navy's role in the 2020s, and beyond, is outlined in the 2021 defence white paper, which was published on 2 ...

. Each ship displaces approximately 3,700 tonnes, and is equipped with a state of the art suite of equipment, though the lead ship of the class, ''HMS Echo'' was retired in 2022.

Design

''Echo'' and ''Enterprise'' were the first Royal Navy ships to be fitted with

azimuth thruster An azimuth thruster is a configuration of marine propellers placed in pods that can be rotated to any horizontal angle (azimuth), making a rudder unnecessary. These give ships better maneuverability than a fixed propeller and rudder system. Ty ...

s. Both azimuth thrusters and the bow thruster can be controlled through the integrated navigation system by a joystick providing high manoeuvrability. Complete control and monitoring for power generation and propulsion, together with all auxiliary plant systems, tank gauging and damage control functions is provided through the integrated platform management system (IPMS), accessible through workstations around the ship. The range of equipment carried includes the following: * Multi beam echo sounder * Single beam echo sounder * Survey Planning and Processing Systems * Side-scan sonar * Oceanographic Probe and sensors * Undulating Oceanographic Profiler * Doppler Current Log * Sub-bottom Profiler * Bottom Sampling Equipment * Survey motor boat fitted with multi-beam sonar and sidescan sonar The vessels are armed. They carry a GAM-B01 20 mm cannon (a naval version of the

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models em ...

), two

minigun The M134 Minigun is an American 7.62×51mm NATO six-barrel rotary machine gun with a high rate of fire (2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute). It features a Gatling-style rotating barrel assembly with an external power source, normally an electric ...

s and four General Purpose Machine Guns

Role

The vessels are designed to conduct survey tasks in support of submarines or amphibious operations. They can provide almost real-time tailored environmental information, and also have a secondary role as a mine countermeasure tasking authority platform, for which they are capable of embarking a dedicated mine counter measures command team, and supporting other

mine warfare Mine warfare refers to the use of different types of explosive devices: *Land mine, a weight-triggered explosive device intended to maim or kill people or to disable or destroy vehicles *Minelaying, deployment of explosive mines at sea **Naval mine ...

vessels.

Manning

The two ships follow the same type of crew rotation pattern as , in that two-thirds of their crew is needed to keep the ship operational, with the remaining one-third ashore. This allows each ship to be available for deployment for up to 330 days a year. The ship's crew consists of 72 personnel, with 48 on board at any one time, working a cycle of 75 days on, 30 days off. The ships are able to accommodate 81 personnel if necessary. In support of this high availability, all accommodation and recreational facilities are designed for an unusual (in a warship) degree of comfort. All personnel share double cabins with private facilities, except the captain and executive officer who both have single cabins.

Ships in the class

Notes

References

External links

* {{Echo class Survey ship Mine warfare vessels of the United Kingdom Auxiliary research ship classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy