Haida: A Story of the Hard Fighting Tribal Class Destroyers of the Royal Canadian Navy on the Murmansk Convoy, the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay

by William Sclater, Ted Barris, Grant MacDonald

An action-packed, first-hand account of Canada's most famous naval warship and her exploits during the Second World War.

Genres: History

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2012

Reviews

[Steve Birchmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

HMCS Haida, is now moored at Hamilton Harbour near Toronto; if I ever visit that city I'll be sure to take a look.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read a book written so close to the end of the war. I enjoyed reading about the Haida's exploits in WWII, especially as someone who has loved climbing on board the ship ever since it was moored in Toronto at Ontario Place. Some of the stories were interesting and it was good to think of the men on board as real people.

The book is not a particularly difficult read and goes fairly quickly. From a modern stand point I found that the author liked to use short forms and nick names without explanation, which often left me reading for a few pages before I was sure what exactly I was reading about. Same with using ship terms without explanation. The feel of the book was good, but if you have no background and are looking for some non-fiction explanations, this isn't the book for you.

[Bill Leach · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of life on the destroyer "Haida" during World War II. Could have used more information on the ship and the significance of the Tribal class destroyers during the war. From Wikipedia: ""Haida sank more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian warship and as such is commonly referred to as the "Fightingest Ship in the Royal Canadian Navy".

[Ronald Kelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sanctioned Oxford University Press facsimile reprint edition of the original 1947 book. This is an account of the first year (or so) of the career of HMCS Haida, the most successful Royal Canadian Naval vessel of the Second World War - being responsible for or assisting in the destruction of 12-14 enemy ships. The book tells the events of the Haida's months in the Arctic Convoys and on patrols in the English Channel before, during and after the D-Day invasions. In style the book is somewhat dated and it reads more like a novel than a typical military history. Conversations between crew have been recreated, imagined or extrapolated. Although these are fictional, they do have an air of authenticity about them, which heightens the immediacy and drama of the events. Also, the author's decision to not use crew members names left me wanting to learn more about the men who served on the this gallant vessel. Perhaps a trip to visit HMCS Haida in Hamilton will be in order. A very good book I would recommend to anyone.