HMCS ''Haida'' is a that served in the
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
(RCN) from 1943 to 1963, participating in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
and the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. She was named for the
Haida people.
The only surviving Tribal-class destroyer out of 27 vessels constructed for the RCN, the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, and the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
between 1937 and 1945, ''Haida'' sank more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...
and as such is commonly referred to as the "''Fightingest Ship in the Royal Canadian Navy''".
Designated a
National Historic Site of Canada
National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...
in 1984, she now serves as a
museum ship berthed next to , an active
Royal Canadian Naval Reserve
The Naval Reserve (NAVRES, french: link=no, Réserve navale) is the Primary Reserve component of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The primary mission of the NAVRES is to force generate sailors and teams for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) operations, in ...
Division, in
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
. In 2018, ''Haida'' was designated the ceremonial
flagship of the RCN.
Design and description
The Tribals were designed to fight heavily armed destroyers of other navies, such as the Japanese .
[Chesneau, p. 40] Canada chose the design based on its armament, with the size and power of the Tribal class allowing them to act more like small cruisers than as fleet destroyers. ''Haida'' was among the first batch of Tribal-class destroyers ordered by the RCN in 1940–1941. They were ordered with modified ventilation and heating systems for
North Atlantic winter service. ''Haida''s design was modified after deficiencies were noted in the lead ship of the Canadian Tribals, .
''Haida'', as one of the British-built Tribal-class destroyers, was
long between perpendiculars and
long overall
__NOTOC__
Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...
with a
beam of and a
draught of . As built, the destroyer
displaced standard and at deep load.
[Macpherson and Barrie, p. 59] ''Haida'' had a complement of 14 officers and 245 ratings.[
The destroyer was propelled by two ]shafts
''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection, ...
driven by two Parsons
Parsons may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Parsons, Kansas, a city
* Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Parsons, Tennessee, a city
* Parsons, West Virginia, a town
* Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...
geared turbines
A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic p ...
powered by steam created by three Admiralty-type three-drum boilers. This created and gave the ship a maximum speed of . The destroyers could carry of fuel oil.[
As built, ''Haida'' was fitted with six quick-firing Mk XII guns placed in three twin turrets, designated 'A', 'B' and 'Y' from bow to stern.][Mark XII = Mark 12. Britain used ]Roman numeral
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ea ...
s to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. The turrets were placed on 40° mountings with open-backed shields.[ The ship also had one twin turret of QF Mk XVI guns in the 'X' position.][ For secondary anti-aircraft armament, the destroyer was equipped with four single-mounted 2-pounder "pom-pom" guns. The vessel was also fitted with four ]torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes.
There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s for Mk IX torpedoes.[
]
Construction and career
''Haida''s keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
was laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
by Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd. at their shipyard in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 29 September 1941 with the 41.[Macpherson and Barrie, p. 60] The destroyer was launched on 25 August 1942 and commissioned into RCN service on 30 August 1943.[ She underwent workups under her first commanding officer, H.G. DeWolf before reporting to the British Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in October 1943.
]
After commissioning ''Haida'' was assigned to the Royal Navy's Home Fleet.[ On 15 November the ]convoy JW 54A
Convoy JW 54A was an Arctic convoys of World War II, Arctic convoy sent from United Kingdom, Great Britain by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in November 1943, reaching the Soviet n ...
sailed from Loch Ewe
Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...
. ''Haida'' was among the destroyers that joined the escort from 18 to 24 November 1943. On 28 November ''Haida'' was among the destroyer escort for the Russian convoy RA 54B, protecting it until it reached Loch Ewe on 9 December without loss. The convoy JW 55B sailed from Loch Ewe for Russia on 20 December. ''Haida'' was a member of its ocean escort.[Rohwer, pp. 292–293] The was deployed to intercept the convoy. While the cruisers escorting the convoy kept the German vessel at bay, ''Haida'' and the other escorting destroyers shepherded the convoy away from danger until the German battleship was sunk by a British force. On 23 December the convoy was attacked by Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...
bombers, but escaped unscathed. ''Haida'' joined the escort of RA 55B on the return journey to the UK which sailed from Kola Inlet on 31 December and arrived on 8 January 1944.[
]
Operations along the French coast
On 10 January 1944, she was reassigned to the 10th Destroyer Flotilla at Plymouth and took part in the Operation Tunnel and Operation Hostile sweeps in the Bay of Biscay and along the French coast of the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
.[Schull, p. 250] The 10th Flotilla, with the cruisers and , formed Force 26. By April, ''Haida'' had sailed on nineteen of the Operation Tunnel/Hostile missions.[
During the night of 25/26 April, ''Haida'', with ''Black Prince'' and the destroyers , , and engaged the German 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla comprising the German s ''T29'', ''T24'' and ''T27''. Despite the German designation as 'torpedo boat', the Elbings were essentially on a par with mid-sized Allied destroyers having just slightly smaller armament. ''T27'' was hit early and retired to ]Morlaix
Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Leisure and tourism
The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overha ...
while ''Haida'' sank ''T29'' and ''T24'' was damaged before making St. Malo.[Rohwer, p. 318]
On the night of 28/29 April ''T24'' and ''T27'' attempted to move from St. Malo to Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
and encountered the destroyers ''Athabaskan'' and ''Haida'' off St. Brieux, which were performing a covering sweep as part of Operation Hostile. ''Athabaskan'' was torpedoed and sunk in the engagement. ''T24'' is credited with the sinking the ship.[ ''Haida'' ran ''T27'' ]aground
Ship grounding or ship stranding is the impact of a ship on seabed or
waterway side. It may be intentional, as in beaching to land crew or cargo, and careening, for maintenance or repair, or unintentional, as in a marine accident. In accidenta ...
and set the vessel afire with shelling. The torpedo boat was later destroyed by ''MTB 673''.[ Of the ''Athabaskan''s crew 128 were lost, 44 survivors were recovered by ''Haida'' and 83 survivors became prisoners of war of the Germans and were brought to France.
''Haida'' continued the Operation Hostile sorties in company of sister ship ''Huron'' during the weeks leading up to Operation Overlord. The 10th Destroyer Flotilla were part of the covering force for surface attacks at the western entrance of the English Channel during the invasion of Normandy. On 8–9 June, ''Haida'' was part of Task Force 26 which engaged the German 8th Destroyer Flotilla, comprising '' Z32'', ''Z24'', and ''T24'' northwest of the Île de Bas. ''Haida'' and ''Huron'' combined to sink ''Z32'' in the Battle of Ushant.][Rohwer, pp. 331–332] Following the fall of Cherbourg, the German E-boat
E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a lar ...
s were transferred to Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
, freeing up the 10th Flotilla. The flotilla was then given the dual role of covering Allied motor torpedo boat flotillas and search and sink missions against German shipping along the French coast.
On 24 June, while on patrol in the English Channel off Land's End
Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...
, investigated a 311th Squadron's Liberator bomber dropping depth charges on a target. ''Haida'' and the British destroyer began their own depth charge attacks after being informed that a submarine had been spotted. After several attacks, the submarine surfaced and attempted to run. ''Haida'' and ''Eskimo'' began to fire with all their guns and sank . ''Haida'' rescued six survivors of the sunken submarine. On 14/15 July 1944, ''Haida'' and intercepted a group of German ships in the Île de Groix area near Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...
. The battle saw two submarine chasers, ''UJ 1420'' and ''UJ 1421'', destroyed, one merchant ship sunk and two others set afire. On 5–6 August, ''Haida'' was part of a force engaged in an Operation Kinetic sweep. The force attacked a German convoy north of the Île de Yeu and sank the minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of ...
s ''M 263'' and ''M 486'', the patrol boat
A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...
''V 414'' and the coastal launch ''Otto''. During the battle a shell exploded in one of ''Haida''s turrets and started a fire, killing two and injuring eight, knocking the turret out of action. Staying in the line of battle, the destroyers were engaged by shore batteries
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facil ...
when they attempted to take on a second convoy and were forced to withdraw without doing much damage to the German merchant vessels.
Refit and northern operations
''Haida'' departed Western Europe on 22 September for Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
, arriving on 29 September. The destroyer returned to Scapa Flow in mid-January 1945 after refitting to receive new radar. On 19 March ''Haida'' escorted aircraft carriers in minelaying operations off Granesund, Norway and assisted in attacks on shipping off Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
from 24 to 28 March. On 7 April, ''Haida'' escorted seven anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
vessels from Greenock, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
destined for Soviet use at Vaenga, on the Kola Inlet
Kola Bay (russian: Кольский залив) or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma, Rosta ...
.
The destroyer was among the escort for convoy JW 66 that set out from the River Clyde on 16 April. ''Haida'' experienced one of the last RCN engagements of the Second World War when she escorted convoy RA 66 from Vaenga from 29 April to 2 May. The convoy was attacked in transit and ''Haida'' and ''Huron'' received near-misses from torpedoes fired by U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
s. In the skirmish, two U-boats were sunk, along with the frigate , and the convoy escaped in a snowstorm. ''Haida'' and ''Huron'' returned to Scapa Flow on 6 May and were assigned to relief operations at Trondheimsfjord
The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland i ...
, Norway on 17 May. From 29 to 31 May, ''Haida'', ''Huron'', the cruiser and the 5th Escort Group were sent to Trondheim to take over custody of surrendered U-boats.
''Haida'', along with ''Huron'' and ''Iroquois'', left for Halifax on 4 June to refit as part of Canada's contribution to Operation Downfall. They arrived on 10 June and ''Haida'' started a tropicalization refit but it was suspended after the surrender of Japan later that summer. ''Haida'' was paid off
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...
on 20 March 1946.[
]
Cold War operations
''Haida'' was in inactive reserve for approximately one year but was prepared for reactivation in 1947 and underwent a refit for updated armament and sensors. This involved replacing the main armament, with the 4.7-inch guns removed and two twin Mk XVI 4-inch gun mounts installed forward and a twin /50 calibre gun mount installed aft.[The 50 ]calibre
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore match ...
denotes the length of the gun. This means that the length of the gun barrel is 50 times the bore diameter. The ship was given a Mk 63 fire control director for its guns. One turret was completely removed and replaced by two Squid anti-submarine mortars placed on the quarterdeck. A short aluminum mast was installed and the funnels were fitted with caps.[Gardiner and Chumbley, p. 41]
''Haida'' was equipped with Type 275, SPS-10, SPS-6, Type 293 and 262 radars and Type 140 and 174 sonars.[ While in refit, fire gutted the wheelhouse and boiler tubes burst later during speed trials. She returned to the fleet, still carrying the pennant number G63, in May 1947.
''Haida'' and her sister ship participated in exercises between the RCN's Atlantic Fleet and the ]United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and Royal Navy over the next several years and were the first RCN ships to penetrate Hudson Bay in Fall 1948. ''Haida'' was involved in assisting during the grounding of the aircraft carrier off Port Mouton, Nova Scotia Port Mouton is a small village along Highway 103 on the southwest coast of Region of Queens Nova Scotia, Canada. It is about ten miles from Liverpool, the nearest significant community, and 160 kilometres from Halifax. The local residents pronoun ...
on 4 June 1949. In November 1949, ''Haida'' rescued the 18 members of the crew of a United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
B-29 bomber that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean. That December, ''Haida'' was downgraded to a depot and accommodation ship in Halifax.
The opening of the Korean War on 25 June 1950 saw ''Haida'' once again activated for war duty. She was converted to a destroyer escort
Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships.
Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...
and began refit in July 1950 which saw various new armaments and sensors and communications systems. She was recommissioned on 15 March 1952 and carried the pennant DDE 215. She departed Halifax on 27 September for Sasebo
is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...
, Japan, arriving there on 6 November after passing through the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...
.[Thorgrimsson and Russell, p. 141]
''Haida'' relieved ''Nootka'' on 18 November off the west coast of Korea and had an uneventful patrol performing aircraft carrier screening and inshore patrol missions, returning to Sasebo to replenish on 29 November. She patrolled off the east coast of Korea beginning on 4 December and took part with the destroyer escort in shelling of a railway yard in Songjin
Kimch'aek (), formerly Sŏngjin (Chosŏn'gŭl: 성진, Hancha: 城津), is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It was an open port in 1899. It has a population of 207,699.
Etymology
The city received its current name in 1951 durin ...
as well as a coastal battery and North Korean troops. On 18–19 December, ''Haida'' attacked an enemy train but missed the escaping locomotive which hid in a nearby tunnel, thus not joining the exclusive "Trainbusters Club". ''Haida'' returned to patrol on 3 January 1953 and escorted aircraft carriers as well as performing coastal bombardments. On 29 January, ''Haida'' entered the " Trainbusters Club" after attacking a train north of Riwon. The destroyer eliminated a second train on 26 May and also detonated a drifting anti-ship mine on her return to Paengyang-do. She departed Sasebo on 12 June, heading west through the Suez Canal and arrived in Halifax on 22 July 1953.[
''Haida'' departed Halifax for a second Korean tour on 14 December 1953, passing through the Panama Canal and arriving in theatre on 5 February 1954. Despite the ]cease fire
A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
, infractions by North Korea and China were occurring, thus the need for a naval presence around South Korea. The destroyer departed the Korean theatre on 12 September 1954 and headed for Halifax via the Suez Canal once again, arriving on 1 November.[
Following the Korean operations, ''Haida'' embarked on Cold War anti-submarine warfare duties with other ]NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
units in the North Atlantic and West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
. In May 1956, ''Haida'', accompanied by ''Iroquois'' and ''Huron'' visited cities and towns along the Saint Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connectin ...
, making several port visits.
''Haida''s aging hull and infrastructure proved troublesome and in January 1958 she went into refit for hull repairs and protection for electronic equipment. Further refits in 1959 corrected various problems and she sailed for the West Indies in January 1960; however, further equipment failures culminating in the failure of her steering gear on 3 April forced her to return to Halifax. A hull survey in May found extensive corrosion and cracking, forcing her into drydock for the remainder of the year. She undertook further repairs in June–July 1961 after further cracking was found during operations in heavy seas that March. More cracks were detected in March 1962 which forced a refit through February 1963.
Preservation
With the writing on the wall, ''Haida'' undertook her last assignment, a summer tour of the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
. She departed Halifax on 25 April 1963 with a mobile television studio on board. She undertook various public tours and weapons training during the tour; one of the individuals to tour her was a former RCN rating named Neil Bruce. Bruce foresaw that she was destined for scrapping and formed HAIDA Inc. with four others as a means of attempting to acquire her for preservation.[ On 30 April 1963, the ship was ]paid off
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...
for the last time.
''Haida'' returned to Halifax and was placed in Category C reserve at the navy base in Sydney. Crown Assets announced ''Haida'' would be scrapped in 1964 as part of cutbacks to the RCN. HAIDA Inc. placed a bid of $20,000 and won possession on the grounds of restoration. After preparing the ship, the RCN towed the vessel to Marine Industries Limited
Marine Industries Limited (MIL) was a Canadian ship building, hydro-electric and rail car manufacturing company, in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, with a shipyard located on the Richelieu river about 1 km from the St. Lawrence River. It employed up to ...
shipyard at Sorel, Quebec where she became civilian property.[
The Naval Reserve Division provided a skeleton crew for ''Haida'' as she was towed to Toronto by two ]tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
s. She arrived on 25 August 1964 with guest of honour, retired Vice-Admiral Harry DeWolf, who was the destroyer's first commanding officer. ''Haida'' was restored and reacquired the pennant G63 while docked at the foot of York Street.[
She opened as an attraction in August 1965 at the pier on York Street. Initially the city of Toronto had planned to build a "Serviceman's Memorial Park" near the Princes' Gates at nearby ]Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...
to link with the ''Haida'' preservation efforts. The organization HAIDA Inc. ran into financial difficulties during the late 1960s and title to the ship was transferred to the provincial government for $1. In 1970, ''Haida'' was moved to Ontario Place
Ontario Place is an entertainment venue, event venue, and park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The venue is located on three artificial landscaped islands just off-shore in Lake Ontario, south of Exhibition Place, and southwest of Downtown Toronto. ...
at the west end of the Toronto waterfront, where it was turned into an attraction until 2002. The guns on the vessel were fired whenever the Toronto Symphony played Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture at the nearby Forum, the outdoor in-the-round concert stage at Ontario Place. The vessel was also used as a Royal Canadian Sea Cadets training facility.
HMCS ''Haida'' National Historic Site
In 2002, at the urging of Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
MP Sheila Copps
Sheila Maureen Copps (born November 27, 1952) is a former Canadian politician who also served as the sixth deputy prime minister of Canada from November 4, 1993, to April 30, 1996, and June 19, 1996, to June 11, 1997. Her father, Victor Copps, ...
, Parks Canada purchased ''Haida'' from the provincial government and towed her (with great difficulty) from her Ontario Place dock to a shipyard at Port Weller for a $5 million refit to her hull. She was taken to a new home on the Hamilton waterfront and arrived to an 11-gun salute from 31 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps ''Lion'' and her 12-pounder naval field gun on 30 August 2003, the 60th anniversary of her commissioning into the RCN.[ The destroyer is now a National Historic Site and is a museum ship on the Hamilton waterfront in front of Hamilton's Naval Reserve Division, .
In July 2006 ''Haida'' was "twinned" with the Polish destroyer ''Błyskawica'' in a ceremony in Gdynia, Poland. Both ships served in the 10th Destroyer Flotilla during the Second World War. The ceremony was attended by former crew members of both ships and the general public. The ship was visited in 2009 by ]Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
, and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the ac ...
, and, on June 29, 2010, at Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
, presented to representatives of HMCS ''Haida'' the World Ship Trust Certificate. In September 2016, the ship was towed to Heddle Marine to undergo repairs and upgrades. The repairs took until December 2016 to complete. In February 2018, ''Haida'' was designated the ceremonial flagship of the Canadian Navy, now marked by the hoisting of a Haida tribal flag.
Affiliations and organizations
There is also a Sea Cadet Corps named after the ship, located in Streetsville, Mississauga. 186 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Haida, was established on 9 January 1963. The museum is affiliated with the Canadian Museums Association, Canadian Heritage Information Network, Organization of Military Museums of Canada The Organization of Military Museums of Canada is a national organization for the promotion of military museums in Canada.
The OMMC was established in 1967 by a group of military museums, historians, and military history enthusiasts. It has over 40 ...
and the Virtual Museum of Canada
The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity.
Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...
.
See also
* List of attractions in Hamilton, Ontario
* List of museum ships
* Ships preserved in museums
There are numerous notable ships preserved in museums around the world. These are distinct from museum ships, which are ships where visitors can go aboard to see the ship.
List
This list is in date order, starting with the oldest ships.
* Khufu ...
Notes
Citations
References
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Further reading
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External links
Parks Canada HMCS ''Haida'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haida (G63)
Tribal-class destroyers (1936) of the Royal Canadian Navy
World War II destroyers of Canada
Cold War destroyers of Canada
Museum ships in Canada
Museum ships in Ontario
Museums in Hamilton, Ontario
National Historic Sites in Ontario
1942 ships
Korean War destroyers of Canada
Ships built on the River Tyne
Ships built by Vickers Armstrong