She is the last of her kind, a true fighting ship, during her active service she would sink more enemy tonnage than any other Canadian warship, she is the Tribal class destroyer HMCS Haida.
DSCN1217 by
B S, on Flickr
Commissioned in 1943 the HMCS Haida would see active duty straight away and to the bitterest part the convoys to North Russia, her and her 26 other sisters were chiefly designed for operations in the Pacific fighting the heavily armed Japanese destroyers however the more pressing need in the Atlantic saw a role she never fulfilled.
Assigned to the 10th Destroyer squadron alongside another famous warship the Polish ORP Blyskawica now preserved in Gdynia Poland (Both are twinned with each other), the Haida would go on to protect convoys and also work with the Home fleet before later serving in the English channel on D Day and the Bay of Biscay.
Armed with six 4.7inch quick firing guns (which I believe B turret it still live) mounted in pairs in three turrets A,B & Y these fast destroyer were a match for the sleek and fast Japanese they were designed to take on, however they were more armed than their German counterparts who by now relied more heavily on submarines than warships.
DSCN1246 by
B S, on Flickr
Haida would see a lot of action even after the second world war, she would be present during the D Day landings and would sink the U917 in that theatre along with several other warships in operation Hostile which secured the Western edge of the English channel against German ships and submarines.
After the war HMCS Haida returned to Canada for tropicalisation refit however with the Surrender of Japan the work was halted and Haida paid off in March 1946.
It wasn’t long before the call came again for Haida to serve her country, this time on the other side of the world in the area she was built for the Pacific, the Korean war had broken out and she would be there.
Acting as carrier escort for the large American carriers she performed well but her recent down grade to depot ship and refit back to destroyer and a world war had taken its toll, she would remain on station until after the cease fire returning via the Suez canal to Halifax.
Normally she would have been paid off but the old girl had some life in her still and would continue on serving the Canadian navy and NATO in anti-submarine duties in the Atlantic Ocean, by 1958 her infrastructure and hull were presenting some problems the layout and modern equipment was a mish mash her hull was now showing cracking which required many refits between 1958 and 1962.
DSCN1279 by
B S, on Flickr
The writing was on the wall, this ship which had served in two wars in two oceans faithfully was decommissioned for the final time in April 1963, originally slated for scrap she was saved becoming a museum ship in Ontario.
Having a troublesome life in two wars she had trouble in her retirement the foundation which saved her went into liquidation and the museum closed in 1970, she was sold for $1 CAD to Hamilton provincial government where she remained until 2002 as a tourist attraction, the ship underwent a refit in the 2000’s to keep her a float and in 2016 she entered her new berth at the west end of Hamilton Quay where she remains.
Visits from HRH Prince of wales & Duchess of Cornwall in 2009 assisted in her gaining notice from the public also HRH the duke of York presented to the Haida the world ship trust certificate, but one final honour would bestow her in February 2018 she officially became the ceremonial flag ship of the Canadian navy a fitting retirement to an old warrior.
DSCN1351 by
B S, on Flickr