Abstract: A side scan sonar system which records return echoes in a manner which realistically displays the spatial relationship between the sonar transducer and the echo producing topographical feature on the sea floor. The system includes a dual channel strip chart recorder having a continuous transverse belt carrying a pair of equally spaced writing styli. The belt circulates at a constant speed with each stylus moving across the paper, first in one direction and then in the opposite direction. One of the styli records starboard channel data when that stylus is moving across the paper toward the right, while the other stylus records port channel data when that stylus is moving across the paper toward the left.