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 ageing survey ships Scott and Shackleton.

The hull design was based on that of the RRS Discovery, and the Hecla class were built to commercial standards costing £1.25 million each. They carried two small survey craft, a launch, a Land Rover and a Wasp helicopter, for which there was a flight deck and hangar. A fourth ship, HMS Herald was ordered in the early 1970s. Three, all bar HMS Hecate, saw service as ambulance ships 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 (originally 2,733 tons)
Length: 260 feet (80 metres)
Beam: 50 feet (15 metres)
Draught: 16 feet (5 metres)
Propulsion: 3 Paxman Ventura 12YJCZ 12-cylinder turbo-charged diesel-electric engines for the 2000 shaft horsepower main propulsion; 2 Paxman 6YJXZ auxiliary engines
Maximum speed: 14 knots (3 engines) - 2 engines gave 11 knots and one engine 7 knots
Range: 12,000 nautical miles
Complement: Generally a Commander (X)(H) in command (though sometimes a Captain RN), with 12-15 officers and 104-106 ratings, 1 NAAFI Canteen Manager, 1 Laundryman. For a detailed breakdown of a typical ship's company, see List of ships complement of HMS Hydra (A144).

2 31-feet surveying motor boats (SMB) and one 18-foot SMB
Westland Wasp helicopter from 829 Naval Air Squadron (with hangar, aft); flight deck recognition letters were HD (Hydra), HE (Herald), HL (Hecla), HT (Hecate)
Land Rover (with garage, forward)

Besides the strengthened hull for work in ice and the provision of air conditioning necessary for work in all climates, they had modifications particular for a scientific vessel: wet and dry laboratories; a survey chartroom and photographic darkroom; oceanographic winches for deep seawater analysis and coring; stabilisers and a bow thruster, which enabled the ship to maintain her position when stopped for scientific observations.