Echo Class

Only one boat remains of the Royal Navy’s Echo Class – HMS Scott, but she still plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of sailors around the world. Traditionally, Echo Class ships chart all of the important data which helps mariners navigate safely through the waters and avoid danger.

Echo Class ships are fitted with a hull-mounted, multi-beam echo sounder, a device used to determine the depth of water and nature of the sea bed. It works by transmitting a broad acoustic pulse which then forms multiple receive beams (known as beamforming). From this beam, a two-way travel time of the pulse is established. If the speed of sound in water is known, the depth and position of the return signal can be determined.