Destroyer HMCS Haida
Introduction In it was decided to order a number of Tribal class destroyers for the Canadian navy from British yards. These ships were ordered from Vickers- Armstrongs (Tyne) in Great Britain. The reason was that Canada did not have sufficient skilled workers to build these ships and it was virtually impossible to get sufficient professional support from Britain. Contrary to the Australian government which had ships built on their own yards. The order for the first two ships was placed at the beginning of followed for the next two by the end of that year. In June another two vessels were ordered but this time from the Halifax Shipyard. The engines were supplied by J.Inglis & Co. A final two were ordered from the same yard in 1943. The last four ships were finished after the end of WWII and therefore not see active duty in this period. Because the first ships were not ordered until use could be made of the hard lessons that had already been learned during wartime by the British ships as well as what should be demanded from a destroyer. Improved technology could be implemented in the Canadian ships as they were built. For instance the air defence systems were too weak and this could be modified in the design. The later hulls were strengthened during building as pounding at high speed in rough seas had weakened the earlier hulls, wich had to be stiffened during refits. Cracks and splits in the forecastle decks had had to be plated over or welded together HMCS Micmac was the first of four Tribal destroyers built at the Halifax Shipyard and the first modern, high-performance warship built in Canada. Cracks in the decks, overcrowded messdecks. Due to extra equipment, more personnel had to be crammed into their messes. Hammocks touching, messdecks two feet deep flooded, violent weather, infrequent mail, irregular leave and unremitting weariness was the life of a sailor. HMS Matabele was one of the original sixteen British ships with a standard displacement of 1,959 tons and a full load displacement of 2,519 tons. On 17 January, while screening convoy PQ8 to Murmansk, Matabele was hit by a torpedo from U-454 and sank almost immediately. Only two out of her complement of 238 survived. HMS Maori was a unit of the Mediterranean Fleet until sunk by German aircraft while at Malta in. The wreck was later raised and scuttled outside the Grand Harbour and is nowadays a diving site. Tribal destroyer The Tribal or Afridi class destroyers were built for the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Navy. Originally conceived as a failed design for a light fleet cruiser the Tribals evolved into fast, powerful destroyers with greater emphasis on guns over torpedoes than previous destroyers in response to new designs by Japan, Italy, and Germany. The Tribals were liked by their crews and the public due to their power. Often becoming symbols of prestige while in service. As some of the Royal Navy s most modern and powerful escort ships, the Tribals served with distinction in nearly all theatres of WWII. Royal Canadian Navy Name Pennant Builder Laid down Launch Commissioned Iroquois (ex- Athabaskan) Athabaskan (i) (ex-iroquois) G89/217 Vickers Armstrongs 19 Sept. G07 Vickers Armstrongs 31 Oct. 23 Sept. 15 Nov. Huron G24/216 Vickers Armstrongs 15 July 25 June Haida G63/215 Vickers Armstrongs 29 Sept. Micmac R10/214 Halifax Shipyards, 20 May Nootka R96/213 Halifax Shipyards 20 May 25 Aug. 18 Sept. 1943 26 April 1944 10 Dec. Sold for scrapping, 1966 3 Feb. 1943 Lost 29 April 1944, torpedoed by German torpedo boat T-24 north of Ile de Bas 19 July 1943 Sold for scrapping, 1965 30 Augt. 1943 18 Sept. 1945 Cayuga R04/218 Halifax Shipyards 7 Oct. 1943 28 July 1945 20 Oct. 1947 Athabaskan (ii) R79/219 Halifax Shipyards 15 May 1944 (Sourche: The Tribals / Martin H. Brice) 4 May 1945 20 Jan. 1948 Preserved as museum ship, Hamilton, 1964 Sold for scrapping, 1964 7 Aug. 1946 Sold for scrapping, 1964 Sold for scrapping, 1964 Sold for scrapping, 1969 Note: Museum ship Haida has 30 August as date of commissioning. This is the date that Haida was released to be commissioned and to start sea trials. These were completed on 18 September. 2 3
The others: A Tribal destroyer of -39 MF/DF Rangefinder and AA director Three days after the German troops marched into the Rheinland, the first seven British Tribals were ordered (10 March ) followed by a second batch in June. The new destroyers were notable in incorporating a number of firsts and lasts in their layout. In so far as the hull was concerned, they were the last to employ the established transverse framing. They also ended a long run of twinfunneled destroyers in the Royal Navy. (After WWII it was re-introduced with Weapon- and Daring class.) Internally, the arrangements conformed to contemporary practice: crew s quarters forward, the main machinery in the waist, officers cabins and wardroom aft. On commissioning in HMS Afridi was assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla, with the Mediterranean Fleet. Torpedo tubes After control position Machine guns 2 Pounder X-mounting Y-mounting Director control tower Bridge B-mounting A-mounting Royal Navy Name Pennant Builder Laid down Commissioned Afridi F07 Vickers-Armstrongs, Walker 9 June Ashanti F51 William Denny & Brothers, Dumbarton 23 Nov. 3 May 21 Dec. Bedouin F67 Denny Jan. 1937 15 March Cossack F03 Vickers-Armstrongs 9 June Eskimo F75 Vickers-Armstrongs 5 Aug. Gurkha F20 Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Govan 7 June 30 Dec. 6 July 21 Oct. Lost 3 May to aircraft attack off Namsos, Norway Sold for scrapping, 12 April 1949 Lost 15 June to aircraft attack after being disabled by Italian cruisers south of Pantellaria, Mediterranean Sea Lost 24 October, torpedoed by U-563 west of Gibraltar Sold for scrapping, 27 June 1949 Lost 9 April, to aircraft attack off Stavanger, Norway Maori F24 Fairfield 6 July 2 Jan. Lost 12 February to aircraft attack in Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta Mashona F59 Vickers-Armstrongs 5 Aug. Matabele F26 Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Greenock Mohawk F31 John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston 28 March 1 Oct. 25 Jan. 16 July Nubian F36 Thornycroft 10 Aug. 7 Sept. Punjabi F21 Scotts 1 Oct. 29 March Sikh F82 Alexander Stephen & Sons, Linthouse Somali F33 Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend 24 Sept. 26 Aug. Tartar F43 Swan Hunter 26 Aug. Zulu F18 Stephen 10 Aug. Lost 28 May to aircraft attack, southwest of Ireland during the Bismarck chase Lost 17 January, torpedoed by U-454 in Barents Sea Lost 16 April, torpedoed by Italian destroyer Luca Tarigo 6 Dec. Sold for scrapping, 11 June 1949 12 Oct. 12 Dec. 10 March 7 Sept. Lost 1 May, rammed by King George V in Atlantic Lost 14 September to shore batteries off Tobruk Lost 20 September, torpedoed by U-703, sank while under tow in Arctic Ocean Sold for scrapping, 6 January 1948 Lost 14 September to aircraft attack off Tobruk By 1943 the sixteen Tribals of the Royal Navy had been reduced to four, but had been joined by four Tribals built by Vickers- Armstrong for Royal Canadian Navy (previous page): Iroquois, Athabaskan (soon to be lost), Haida and Huron. Royal Australian Navy Arunta I30 Cockatoo Dockyard, Sydney 15 Nov. Name Pennant Builder Laid down Commissioned Warramunga Depth charge chute Bataan (ex-kurnai) Tribals worldwide: Afridi Arunta Ashanti Athabaskan Bataan Bedouin Coyuga Cossack Depth charge throwers Gearing room Engine room I44 Cockatoo 10 Feb. I91 Cockatoo 18 Feb. North West Frontier, India Ghana Nomadic, Arab South East Russia Eskimo Gurkha Haida Huron Iroquois Maori Mashona Matabele Micmac No.3 boiler room Canada was building four more in her own yards while three were built in Australia. (see below) Another four Australian Tribals were projected, but they were not proceeded with. 30 April 23 Nov. 25 May 1945 No.1 boiler room No.2 boiler room Northern North America and Greenland Nepal New Zealand Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia Sold for scrapping 1969, foundered en route to breakers Sold for scrapping 1963 Sold for scrapping 1958 Mohawk Nootka Nubian Punjabi Sikh Somali Tartar Warramunga Zulu Asdic dome Canada Between Sudan and Egypt North West India The Punjab Horn of Africa Central Asia Natal, South Africa 4 5
Canadian improvements included the cut down after funnel, a twin 4 inch mounting in X-position, 20 mm Oerlikons 6 7
Haida in 1949. Additionally: HMCS Haida was modernized between 1950-1952 and commissioned again on 15 March 1952 under pennant number DDE-215. Armament was then as follows: - four 4 inch guns, - four 21 inch torpedo tubes, - two 3 inch/50 calibre guns, - two Squid anti-submarine mortars and - four 40 mm Bofors guns. Between 1937 and 1945 a total of 27 Tribal class destroyers were built for the Royal Navy, the Royal Canadian and Royal Australian Navy. HMCS Haida is the only survivor. Haida was assigned to the 10th Destroyer Flotilla in Plymouth at the beginning of 1944. During World War Two she took part in the destruction of 14 enemy ships in the Channel and the Bay of Biscay. She was also part of flottillas during the Korean war twice. During her career Haida sank or took part in the sinking of more enemy tonnage than any other ship of the Royal Canadian Navy. By the end of the 1950 s Haida ' s aging hull and infrastructure proved troublesome. In January 1958 she went into refit for hull repairs. Followed by further refits in 1959.When she sailed for the West Indies in January 1960; equipment failures culminating in the 3 April failure of her steering gear. Another hull survey found extensive corrosion and cracking, forcing her into drydock for the remainder of the year. More repairs in June July 1961 after further cracking was found during operations in heavy seas that March. More cracks were detected in March 1962 which forced a refit through February 1963. Technical data Haida Length oa: 114,90 m. (377 ft.) Beam: 11,13 m. (36 ft.6 inch) Draught: 3,96 m. (13 ft) Displacement: 1972 tonnes standard; 2519 tonnes full load Engine: 3 Admiralty 3-drum boilers at 300 lb/sq.; 2-shaft Parsons geared turbines Propulsion: Max speed: Bunkers: Endurance: Complement: 240 44000 shp. 36,25 knots 505 to 513 tonnes 5700 nautical miles at 17 knots, 1100 nm at full speed Armament: six 4.7 inch (3 x 2); two 4 inch. (1 x 2); four 2 pdr. (1 x 4); six 20 mm except * eight 4 inch. (4 x 2); four 40 mm.; four 20 mm. Torpedoes: four 21 inch. (1 x 4) Depth charges: A single set of rails on the afterdeck and two depth bomb launchers. Standard 20 depth charges, in wartime 30. Remarks (table left): The 8 MK XII 4,7 inch guns fired 50 lbs shells and were mounted on a double CP Mk XIX base. Maximum elevation was 40 degrees. Ammunition: 200 shells each, plus 50 tracer shells and 50 for use at high angle elevation. The four barrel MK VII Pom-Pom ordnance fired 2 lbs ammunition, supply 14.000. As indicated earlier a number of important modifications were carried through in constructing the Canadian Tribals. This meant amongst other things that the X-position 4.7 inch guns were replaced by a twin 4 inch AA (anti-aircraft) gun. 0.5 inch machine guns were replaced by 20 mm s and the after funnel was lowered to give the AA-guns a wider arc of fire. The searchlight and the 2 pdr Pom-Pom changed places so that this gun had an improved arc of fire as well. The radar equipment consisted of a type 285 on the range finder and a type 291 and 242 on the front mast. Athbaskan was commisioned with ten 20 mm guns, while Haida and Huron were equipped with electrically powered 20 mm s. A combined tower for rangefinder/director replaced the separated fittings on their predecessors. 8 9