Stewardship and management

In October 1963, HMCS Haida was decommissioned from the Navy; she was considered obsolete. The years and the miles had caught up to her – in twenty years she steamed 688,534.25 nautical miles, the equivalent of twenty-seven times around the world, and sank more enemy tonnage than any other Canadian warship. In 1984 the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) recommended that: “...by virtue of both its role in naval combat and the fact that of its Class it alone survives, HMCS Haida is of national historic and architectural significance.” The world’s only surviving Tribal class destroyer continues to proudly serve Canada as a national historic site moored on the beautifully restored Hamilton waterfront.

Touring HMCS Haida’s restored decks, you’ll be amazed at how the captain and crew managed to live and work within such incredibly confined quarters. And you’ll marvel at the huge guns aboard as you learn about the proud history of the Royal Canadian Navy and its contributions during the Second World War, the Korean Conflict, the Cold War and International United Nations peacekeeping efforts. Especially gripping is the retelling of her finest moment when, in 1944 during an English Channel battle, HMCS Haida rescued forty-seven crew members of torpedo stricken HMCS Athabaskan.