Searchlight Aboard The HMCS Haida

Searchlight Aboard The HMCS Haida. Digitaly altered photograph a searchlight (nostalgia aged look, sepia and old photo look) from the bridge of the... more

by Danielle Parent

Title

Searchlight Aboard The HMCS Haida

Artist

Danielle Parent

Medium

Photograph - Photographs

Description

Searchlight Aboard The HMCS Haida. Digitaly altered photograph a searchlight (nostalgia aged look, sepia and old photo look) from the bridge of the Royal Canadian Navy, famous almighty destroyer,the fightingest ship is the last remaining example of the 27 Tribal Class destroyers built for the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy between 1937 and 1945. It has been said that The Tribals were "magnificent in appearance, majestic in movement and menacing in disposition". Technologically, they represented the most advanced naval architecture, marine propulsion systems and weaponry of their time.Once, HAIDA was a mighty fighting ship. Today, she is an irreplaceable historic artifact and her significance has been formally recognized by the Canadian Historic Sites and Monuments Board. Not only is the ship historically significant, but she is a cultural asset representing a life style, however transient, of more than a generation of Canadians who served in Canada's Navy between 1943 and 1963. The thousands of men who sailed in Haida represented a total cross section of Canadian society during that period. Today, Parks Canada owns and operates HMCS HAIDA as a National Historic site. Please refer to the Related Web Sites section to view Park's Canada official web site. http://jproc.ca/haida/index.html HMCS HAIDA is a Tribal class destroyer of British design originating in the late 1930's. The Tribals were unique as they were the first destroyers to incorporate twin gun mountings. This enhanced armament made them exceptionally powerful for their size. In all, 27 Tribals were built. There were 16 in the British navy (of which 12 were lost in WW2), 8 in the Canadian navy (of which 1 was lost in WW2) and 3 in the Australian navy. The remainder were scrapped between 1945 and 1965. Out of the approximate 400 warships which comprised the R.C.N. during World War 2, only HAIDA, SACKVILLE and ACADIA survive.The Royal Canadian Navy decided to acquire this type of vessel in 1939 as it was believed that these ships were ideally suited for patrolling Canadian waters with sufficient armament to engage commerce raiding surface vessels. From a political perspective, the acquisition of vessels of such sophistication virtually guaranteed their continued service in the Navy after the war. For those who had suffered the ravages of pre-war defence policy, this was imperative for the continuance of the Naval Service. Canadian Tribals could not be built in Canada due to a lack of shipbuilding expertise. Negotiations were conducted with the Royal Navy whereby Canada agreed to purchase Tribals from British shipyards, while an additional four would be built in Halifax. As these negotiations progressed, the course of the war changed in such a way as to require that the four British built Tribals would be used in European waters under Admiralty control.During World War 2, the Tribals saw considerable action in every theatre of war from the Arctic to Okinawa and their exploits are legend in naval history. In the fall of 1943, HAIDA operated out of Scapa Flow with the Royal Navy to assist with convoy escorting duties to North Russia on the Murmansk run. On Dec 26, 1943 she was present at the Battle of North Cape when the German battle cruiser SCHARNHORST was sunk by the British Home Fleet. Early in 1944, HAIDA joined the Tenth Destroyer Flotilla operating out of Plymouth England. The objective of this mixed force of British, Canadian and Polish warships was to clear enemy shipping off the coast of France in anticipation of the D-Day landings. During this period, HAIDA achieved great fame by destroying more enemy vessels than any other ship in the R.C.N. It was also during this period that her sister ship H.M.C.S. ATHABASKAN was sunk with the loss of 128 lives. We commemorate this tragic event annually with a memorial service on the Sunday closest to 29 April.Following a refit in Halifax in late 1944, HAIDA rejoined the Fleet in Scapa Flow in early 1945 and spent the rest of the war operating in the Arctic and on the coast of Norway. After the surrender of Germany, the ship was overhauled to operate in the Pacific but the war ended before her conversion was completed. In 1947, HAIDA was recommissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy and worked on the East Coast and in the Arctic. In November 1949, HAIDA was doing maneuovers off the coast of Bermuda when an American B-29 bomber went down. She was first on the scene and lowered her seaboat once again to rescue the downed airmen. As a result, the ship's company received many letters of congratulations. The co-pilot of the aircraft was originally from Texas and for this reason, HAIDA's crew were bestowed with certificates naming them 'Honourary Texans'.
The ship operated with the Atlantic Fleet in the post-war years and in 1950 she was taken out of service for modernization and conversion to an Anti-Submarine escort with Squid mountings on her quarterdeck and improved ASDIC (sonar). HAIDA was recommissioned at a ceremony held in Halifax on a cold and snowy day in March of 1952. At that time, HAIDA became the first Canadian ship commissioned under a Queen, thus became known as "Her Majesty's Canadian Ship". After trials and workups were completed, she sailed almost immediately for Korea. HAIDA did two tours in Korean waters between 1952-54, on both occasions circumnavigating the globe. After Korea, the ship served in the Canadian Atlantic Fleet working mostly with NATO forces until she was paid-off and taken out of service in 1963.
The ship was going to be sold for scrap but a group of Torontonians, recognizing that this was the most famous ship in the Canadian Navy, raised enough money in the private sector to buy the vessel and have her towed to Toronto. At the beginning
of August 1965, she opened to tourists at the foot of York Street - a naval museum, maritime memorial and Sea Cadet training ship.

Uploaded

April 22nd, 2014