HMCS Haida, Hamilton (must see)

HMCS Haida (G63) is a Tribal-class destroyer that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1943-1963. Haida sank more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian warship. She is also the only surviving Tribal-class destroyer out of 27 vessels that were constructed between 1937-1945 for the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and the RCN.

In 2002, at the urging of Hamilton, Ontario MP Sheila Copps, Parks Canada purchased the 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. She now serves as a museum ship on the waterfront of Hamilton and was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1984.