{"id":9330,"date":"2019-10-31T11:28:56","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T15:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/?p=9330"},"modified":"2019-12-14T14:43:58","modified_gmt":"2019-12-14T19:43:58","slug":"hmcs-haida-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ss.sites.mtu.edu\/mhugl\/2019\/10\/31\/hmcs-haida-2\/","title":{"rendered":"HMCS Haida"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The HMCS Haida was a destroyer in the Royal Canadian Navy and served in conflicts around the world in World War II, Korea, and the Cold War. Commissioned in 1943 and serving until 1963, the Haida is dubbed the \u201cfightingest ship in the Royal Canadian Navy\u201d for her various missions throughout her service. Haida, the once fierce destroyer, is now recognized as a National Historic Site and a popular tourist attraction as a museum in Hamilton, Ontario. The destroyer is also a ceremonial flagship for the Royal Canadian Navy and fly\u2019s both the Canadian and Haida Nation flag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In the early\n1930\u2019s French, German, Italian, and Japanese Navy\u2019s were upgrading their destroyers.\nEngland designed and built new destroyer\u2019s specifically to counter the best\ndestroyers at the time, the Japanese destroyers. Haida was built in a group of\n27 other destroyers known as the Tribal class. These ships were all named after\ndifferent groups of people and native tribes from all around the world. The\nHMCS Haida is named after the Haida Nation, who is originally located in\nNorthwest Canada on an island South of Alaska. After completion of the first 16\ndestroyers Canada and Australia requested some of these for their Navy\u2019s, since\nthey both still had ties to the Royal Navy of England. The Tribal destroyers\nwere fast and had majority of its firepower from its guns instead of torpedoes.\nTypically, destroyers had more torpedoes than the Tribal\u2019s four, making it conversional\nand having a large amount of firepower on a destroyer for the time. The Tribal\u2019s\nmade for the Royal Canadian Navy were also outfitted with thicker hulls to\ncombat icy Canadian waters. Of the 27 Tribal class destroyers 13 were sunk in\nwar and another 13 were scrapped after the war(s) were over. Haida is now the\nonly Tribal class destroyer left in existence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
The HMCS Haida parked in Hamiliton Harbor. Via The Star<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Wartime History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            Early in\nHaida\u2019s career the ship assisted in defending convoys delivering supplies to\nRussia. German U-boats and Luftwaffe often attacked these convoys to disrupt\nsupply lines. The Haida, along with other Canadian Tribal\u2019s were perfect for\ndefending these convoys as they navigated in the Arctic Circle, and their hulls\nwere already thickened for Canadian waters. Crew members also had to manually\nknock ice of the sides the ship to prevent it from sinking. It was during one\nof these missions that   a German cruiser attacked\nthe convoy. The Haida successfully killed the enemy ship and earned her first\nvictory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Haida and other Tribal destroyers were later moved from the Arctic Circle to the English Channel. This reposition was critical in the war as they rid the area of German ships to prepare for the allied attack on Normandy. One of Haida most famous accomplishments occurred in this channel in April of 1944. Haida sank a German destroyer and a few days later two more German destroyers approached. Along with Athabaskan, another Tribal destroyer, they engaged the enemy destroyers but the Athabaskan was hit by a German torpedo. After destroying one German destroyer and having one get away, Haida turned around to aid the Athabaskan and rescue as many sailors as possible. Haida initially rescued 47 sailors and returned to England. She also dropped all her life boats into the water for other Athabaskan sailors who could not be rescued by the ship. 11 more sailors sailed back across the English Channel to England a few days later. While on this journey they were being chased by a German ship, who luckily had to retreat because it came too close the England\u2019s shore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fightingest\nship in the Royal Canadian Navy\u201d is no name to be thrown around lightly. Haida\nhad kills of all types in different conflicts, accounting to a total on 14\nenemy ships sunk. This feat is impressive enough alone to be the most of any\nship in the Royal Canadian Navy and included kills on 3 German destroyers and a\nGerman U-boat. To add to the glory of Haida, the fact the she destroyed a\nU-boat is again an impressive feat on its own. This is because of the Tribal\nclasses design of being outfitted with more guns than torpedoes, making their\nsubmarine attacks less frequent. The record for Haida continues with another\namazing individual feat with being a member of the \u201cTrainbusters Club\u201d. These\nkills took place during Haida\u2019s time serving in Korea in which its task was to\ndestroy supplies to North Korea, which happened to be located on a train. The\nname of the club originates from the United States Navy however as, \u201can effort\nto boost morale, [they] issued a challenge to all ships by forming an elite\ngroup called the \u2018Trainbusters Club\u2019. [In which] membership in the club was\nopen to all ships.\u201d It was at this point that Haida did what it does best and\nfired its large asset of guns to destroy its credited two and half trains, ranking\nit second in the Trainbusters Club. The Canadian Navy\u2019s trophy for gunnery\nexpertise is named after Haida for its prestigious accomplishments throughout\nits tenure in the Canadian Navy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preserving History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

            Commissioned in 1943, Haida had\naccumulated many kills and earned quite the reputation for herself and the\nrelatively new Royal Canadian Navy. Like all good stories though this one must\nall come to an end. As the Haida slowly started to continue deteriorating from\ncorrosion and leaks she was sent on a farewell tour around the Great Lakes in\n1963 before being sent to be scrapped. Fortunately, a group of men met on this\ntour and devised a plan to save the Haida, lead in large part by the late Neil\nBruce, and let her legacy live on for years to come. These five men from vastly\ndifferent backgrounds including a lawyer and a pilot, created Haida Inc. to\npursue the purchase of the HMCS Haida before scrapping.  Haida Inc. eventually purchased the destroyer\nfor $20,000 CAD, payed over ten years interest free. The 1964 sale price of\n$20,000 CAD is equivalent to over $160,000 CAD in 2019, a large sum of money\nthat is hard to come by, by both present and past value terms and would later\ncause problems for the group of men. The purchase of the former WWII and Korean\nWar destroyer was not easy, as one may imagine. Neil Bruce traveled constantly\nto Ottawa and Halifax to talk to government officials and the Royal Canadian\nNavy to make the purchase possible. Convincing the defense minister as well as\nthe Chief of Naval Staff that preserving Haida is a good and feasible idea. Also\ngaining support from Vice Admiral DeWolf, who served on the Haida, helped sway\nthe odds in favor of Haida Inc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Immediately after acquiring the\nHaida new challenges arose in the delivery of the destroyer. The men foolishly\ndid not account for fees needed to deliver the ship to from Quebec to Toronto,\nOntario. With none of the men being wealthy enough to pay the $6,500 CAD towing\nfee, and still needing to pay the $20,000 CAD sale price over the next decade,\nthe men mortgaged their homes to have a collateral for the $20,000 incase\nanything went wrong. The towing company also later donated $1,000 CAD back to\nHaida Inc., after towing her to her destination due to the emotions behind the\nmen\u2019s goal to save the ship. After the ship reached its destination in Toronto a\nceremony commenced, officially giving the HMCS Haida to Haida Inc. from the\nCanadian government. Former crew members aboard the Haida were in attendance for\nthe ceremony including Rear Admiral Welland and retired Vice Admiral DeWolf.,\nas well as other notable people such as the Defense Minister Hellyer and former\nToronto mayor Givens. Haida was honored in this ceremony by Admiral Welland being\npresented the White and Blue Ensign, making it the first decommissioned ship to\nbe able to fly both at the same time. The different ensigns were flown by ships\nowned by the Royal Navy (commissioned or not) and those employed by public\nservice offices, respectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The honeymoon phase of the project concluded,\nand work began immediately to fix and restore the Haida to her past form so she\ncould welcome the public into a museum show casing what it was like to live,\noperate, and fight in a WWII destroyer. They also had the intention of honoring\nthose who gave their lives in service. Once opened admittance the Haida was\nonly a small fee to help offset the costs of fixing the Haida and running the museum.\nHowever, with continued decay of the ship and consistent expensive costs to operate\nthe ship and museum the Haida was eventually sold shortly after her initial\npurchase in 1964. In 1970 the Ontario government took over control of the\nHaida, although reluctant to do so because of the costs that would need to be\nthrown into it to complete repairs, and soon after named in a historical site\nin 1971. With costs again proving a difficult task the Ontario government wanted\nto scrap the ship, so the federal government stepped in with Parks Canada. \u201cThe\nchair of Ontario Place wanted to get rid of the Haida so I had dinner with him\nand took possession on behalf of Parks Canada for one dollar. Parks Canada\nassumed responsibility for the refit and the decision to move to Hamilton\u201d, said\nSheila Copps a Liberal Minister of Canadian Heritage in 2000. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            With Parks Canada now in control of\nthe Haida, in 2002 the Haida received $5 million dollars in funding to repair\nHaida again. A $10 million marine museum on Hamilton\u2019s harbor was also announced\nat the same time as the Haida\u2019s new funding. The Haida was repaired, moved from\nToronto to Hamilton, and reopened for the public by 2004. There after the aging\ndestroyer need yet more repairs in 2014, after only a decade of being posted in\nHamilton. This project included repairs to the decaying ship and installation of\nnew safety systems. Parts of the hull decay 25% or more, replacing stone\nballasts with metal to combat moisture and improve balance, repairing bulk\nheads to remain a watertight seal, and new alarms and pumps incase of a leak\nthat would respond automatically were some of the work done to the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Certificate presented to members of the HMCS Haida after rescuing a B-29 bomber pilot from Texas<\/a> (IMGUR)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

            Currently the HMCS Haida, now 78\nyears old (2019-1941) and after serving 20 years (1963-1943) in the Royal\nCanadian Navy, resides peacefully where it has since 2004 in the harbor of\nHamilton, Ontario. Having earned the title of \u201cthe fightingest ship in the\nRoyal Canadian Navy\u201d, having a gunnery expertise trophy (Haida Trophy for Gunnery\nExpertise) named after her, and being a member of the elite \u201cTrainbusters\u201d club,\nHaida has created quite a prestigious resume during her 20 years of service. Also,\nin this resume is that Haida and her crew members are all \u201cHonorary Texans\u201d\nafter rescuing a B-29 bomber pilot who was from Texas. Certificates were\npresented to them thanking them for saving the pilot and declaring them honorary\nTexans which, \u201centitles them to wear cowboy boots, a ten-galloon hat and to\ngenerally conduct themselves as Texans. No bronc riding test is necessary at\nthis time in order to conserve horsepower\u201d. The preservation of the Haida is\ndue thanks to the men of Haida Inc. and in large part to Neil Bruce after the\nCanadian government was ready to scrap her after service. The history of the\nship and life on it during WWII and Korean wars can be seen as a memory to all service\nmen and women in Canada\u2019s military. Without countless hours from Haida Inc.,\nmillions spent by the Canadian government, and thousands of annual volunteer\nhours the HMCS Haida and its amazing history would not be here today to marvel.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Primary Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  1. \u201cHistory of the Haida Nation.<\/a>\u201d\u00a0Council of the Haida Nation<\/em><\/li>
  2. Langan, Fred. \u201cVeteran Neil Bruce Saved the Haida – a Storied Canadian Warship.<\/a>\u201d\u00a0The<\/em> Globe and Mail<\/em>, 9 May 2017<\/li>
  3. Morse, Carla (1996) “Photo Essay: HMCS\u00a0<\/a>Haida<\/em>,”\u00a0Canadian Military History<\/em>: Vol. 5 : Iss. 1 , Article 12<\/li>
  4. Parks Canada Agency, and Government of Canada<\/a>. \u201cHistory.\u201d\u00a0History<\/em>, 2 Apr. 2019 <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Secondary Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Brennan, Pat. \u201cHMCS Haida: the Last of the Tribal-Class Destroyer Warships<\/a>.\u201d Thestar.com<\/em>, 22 Aug. 2019.<\/li>\n
    2. \u201cCANADA TO HONOUR \u2018THE FIGHTINGEST SHIP IN THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY<\/a>.\u2019\u201d Parks
      Canada – News Releases and Backgrounders<\/em>, Parks Canada, 1 Jan. 2008<\/li>\n
    3. Gordon, Bob. \u201cHMCS HAIDA STILL GOING STRONG: Almost 75 Years Old and Back from a Refit, Historic Vessel Will Once Again Welcome Visitors<\/a>.\u201d Espritdecorps<\/i>, Espritdecorps, 10 Mar. 2017<\/li>\n
    4. Kinnaird, Brent. “Facelift for Famous War Hero HMCS Haida<\/a>].”<\/span> Canadian Yachting<\/i>, Spring, 2002, pp. 12<\/span>. ProQuest<\/i>, <\/span><\/li>\n
    5.  \u201cNavel Legends: HMCS Haida | World of Warships<\/a>.\u201d YouTube<\/em>, YouTube, 28 June 2018<\/li>\n
    6. Raeside, Rob. \u201cUnited Kingdom: the White Ensign.<\/a>\u201d United Kingdom: the White Ensign<\/i>, 10 July 2007<\/li>\n
    7. Raeside, Rob. \u201cUnited Kingdom: Regulations for Blue Ensigns<\/a>.\u201d United Kingdom: Regulations for Blue Ensigns<\/i>, 28 June 2015<\/li>\n
    8. \u201cThe Final Voyage of HMCS Haida<\/a>. Side Story<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Introduction The HMCS Haida was a destroyer in the Royal Canadian Navy and served in conflicts around the world in World War II, Korea, and the Cold War. Commissioned in 1943 and serving until 1963, the Haida is dubbed the…<\/p>\n

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