USS ''Echo'' (IX-95), an

unclassified miscellaneous vessel The IX (unclassified–miscellaneous) hull classification symbol is used for ships of the United States Navy that do not fit into one of the standard categories. Similar lists of 'miscellaneous' ships can found at : and :. Ship status i ...

, was the only ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

to be named for the

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

. A sailing scow, she was used as a supply ship in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1944.

History

A twin-masted

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailboat, sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small ha ...

(flat-bottomed schooner) of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

registry, ''Echo'' was built in

in 1905 by William Brown, of

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

timber. She was originally topsail rigged. Twin diesel engines were installed in 1920. She was transferred to the US Navy under reverse

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

from New Zealand and commissioned on 4 November 1942. Sailing from

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 11 November 1942, ''Echo'' delivered cargo at Noumea en route to

Efate Efate (), also known as Île Vate (), is an island in the Pacific Ocean which is part of the Shefa Province in Vanuatu. Geography It is the most populous (approx. 66,000) island in Vanuatu. Efate's land area of makes it Vanuatu's third larg ...

in the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...

. Based on this island at

Port Vila Port Vila ( ; ), or simply Vila (), is the capital of Vanuatu and its largest city. It is on the island of Efate, in Shefa Province. The population was 49,034 as of the 2020 census. In 2020, the population of Port Vila formed 16.3% of the ...

, she served as a supply ship for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in the New Hebrides and adjoining island groups as well as placing and supporting

Coastwatchers The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II ...

. On 14 February 1944, just prior to her departure for New Zealand, the Army awarded her crew a commendation. She arrived at

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 12 March 1944, was decommissioned three days later, and returned to the New Zealand Government.

Film and TV series

In 1942–44 she was used by US forces in the Pacific, and her story was the basis for the 1960 film with

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...

, ''The Wackiest Ship in the Army'' and the 1965 TV series of the same name. The storyline involved a secret mission with an Australian

Coastwatcher The Coastwatchers, also known as the Coast Watch Organisation, Combined Field Intelligence Service or Section C, Allied Intelligence Bureau, were Allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific islands during World War II ...

, played by

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until he died i ...

Postwar

She was in use carrying cargo from Marlborough to Wellington until 1965, and hence was not available for the film. She was then used from 1972 as clubrooms by the Marlborough Cruising Club, but she deteriorated, and was nearly broken up in 1990. She was preserved, but in poor condition, at

Picton, New Zealand Picton () is a town in the Marlborough Region of New Zealand's South Island. The town is located near the head of the Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui, north of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenheim and west of Wellington. Waikawa, Marlborough, ...

as the ''Echo Gallery'', a scow museum and bar. After the bar closed and the ship deteroriated more, Port Marlborough bought the ship from its private owners, and she was broken up in April 2015.Demolition work on historic ''Echo'' begins in Picton (Marlboro Express, retrieved 2015-08-27)
/ref>

External links

History, with photo in wartime service and contact detailsDetails of 1959 newsreel film

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Echo (Ix-95) Unclassified miscellaneous vessels of the United States Navy Merchant ships of New Zealand Ships built in New Zealand 1942 ships Schooners of the United States Navy Picton, New Zealand