HMCS Haida

HMCS Haida is the only survivor of the 27 Tribal class destroyers built for the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Australian Navy between 1937 and 1945. Haida joined her sisters of the Tribal class as part of the 10th Destroyer Flotilla out of Plymouth, England, in early 1944. Her illustrious World War II career included the destruction of 14 enemy ships during patrols in the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. Two tours of duty in the Korean conflict reinforced her claim to the title of "The Fightingest Ship in the RCN." Haida is the most famous ship in the Royal Canadian Navy, having sunk more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian ship.

Paid off in September 1963, HMCS Haida was on Toronto's waterfront for the last 33 years. In 2002, the ship was acquired by the federal agency Parks Canada along with a contribution of $5 million to undertake repairs to the hull and superstructure. The ship has just come out of dry dock and was moved to the city of Hamilton, Ontario on August 30, 2003: the 60th anniversary of her commissioning into the Royal Canadian Navy. Haida will now become a focal point of a new revitalized waterfront in Hamilton along with the new Canada Marine Discovery Centre both of which are scheduled to open in June 2004.