Hecla class survey vessel

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The Hecla class formed the backbone of the Royal Navy's ocean survey fleet from the mid-1960s. Three ships, HMS Hecla, HMS Hecate and HMS Hydra, were ordered in the early 1960s to replace the aging survey ships Scott and Shackleton. They were built to commercial standards, and carried two small survey craft, a launch, a Land Rover and a Wasp helicopter. A fourth ship, HMS Herald was ordered in the early 1970s. Three, all bar HMS Hecate, saw service in the Falklands War, while Herald also served in the Gulf War and as a temporary Antarctic Patrol Ship in 1991 and 1992. Hydra was sold to Indonesia in 1986 and renamed Dewa Kembar; Hecate decommissioned in 1990 and was broken up, while Hecla paid off in 1997 and was sold to an Irish private company, to be replaced by HMS Scott. Herald was finally decommissioned in 2001, and was replaced the same year by HMS Echo.

[edit] General characteristics of Hecla class

Full load displacement; 2,800 tons
Length: 260 ft
Beam: 50 ft
Draught: 16 ft
Propulsion: 3 diesel-electric engines
Maximum speed: 14 knots
Range: 12,000 nautical miles
Complement: 12-15 officers and 104-106 ratings, 1 NAAFI Canteen Manager, 1 Laundryman

Westland Wasp helicopter and one Land Rover carried

Besides the strengthened hull for work in ice and the provision of air conditioning necesary for artic work, they had modifications particular for a scientifc vessel; wet and dry laboratories, a photographic darkroom and a bow thruster which enabled the ship to maintain her position when stopped for scientific observations