Echo Class Inshore Survey Craft

The three units of the Echo class were ordered in 1957 as replacements for the ageing Small Motor Launches (SML). These vessels been converted from HDMLs and had been well suited to locating wrecks after the war and charting shifting sandbanks around the coat of Britain. The three replacements, although larger, were also suited to coastal, estuary and harbour work and operated in the Dover Straits, East Anglian Ports, Thames Estuary but also furthur afield including the North Sea. It was intended for this class to be capable of operating as minesweepers in emergencies and Echo was completed with a 40mm gun.

The hull was based on that of the Ham Class Minesweepers, but adapted for hydrographic operations- each vessel had two echo sounding machines, a sonar and carried a small survey launch. They were powered by two Paxman diesels which provided a top speed of 14 knots. They displaced 160 tons and measured 32 metres in length and 6.7 metres in beam and were built of wood. They had a complement of 16

Upon commissioning the three vessels- Echo, Egeria and Enterprise - formed the South of England Coastal Survey Unit. Together with Waterwitch and Woodlark, two Ham Class minesweepers (formally Powderham and Yaxham) converted to a similar design in the 1960s, they formed the Inshore Survey Squadron and were based at Chatham. They remained there until 1985 when the class was redeployed to Portsmouth. Allot of the time, the three vessels worked together or on similar operations and together they attended the 1977 Silver Jubilee Fleet Review. In January 1985, all three units were withdrawn from service and subsequently involved with the Marine Society- Echo and Egeria as training ships and Enterprise for spare parts. However two of the names will live on in the Royal Navy in the new centuary as the two replacement survey vessels will be named Echo and Enterprise.

Ship	Pennant	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned
Echo	A72	J.S White (Cowes)	??	May 1st 1957	September 12th 1958
Egeria	A71	Weatherhed (Cockenzie)	May 17th 1957	September 13th 1957	??
Enterprise	A70	Blackmore & Sons (Bideford)	??	1958	??

Ship	History
Echo	Completed with a 40mm gun to prove the suitability of the design for minesweeping. Sold to the Marine Society in 1987, refitted and renamed TS Earl of Romney. She is used by the Society to provide seagoing experience for young seafarers.
Egeria	Loaned to the Marine Society on a long term basis and renamed Jonas Hanway. Unable to afford to operate two vessels, The Marine Society returned her to the MoD in 1998 and she was subsequently sold to an individual in Norfolk for use as a diving support vessel.
Enterprise	Withdrawn in 1985 and sold to the Marine Society in 1986 for use as a source of spare parts for Echo.

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