HMCS Haida

Unit Card:

WASHMCSHaidaStatCard.jpg

Set - Rarity - Number

Task Force - Common - 2/60

History:

Haida was one of the 8 Tribal class destroyers which served in the Canadian navy. Sister to Australia's Arunta, Haida survives today as a museum ship. Designed to maximize their gunnery, the Tribals were among the Commonwealth's most powerful destroyers, and accordingly saw heavy action in almost all theaters of the naval war. Haida served with the British out of Scapa Flow, protecting convoys, including on the treacherous Murmansk Run, where she was present at the Battle of North Cape. Refitted after the war, Haida served the RCN until 1963. More details about her history and and present condition can be found and the Haida Museum's web-site.

Reviews:

swarbs
Though the rest of her numerical stats are fairly average, Haida's gunnery combined with the Destroyer Hunter special ability make her a potent weapon against other destroyers. At close range, she even has the dice to hurt cruisers. Sub-Hunter is a very solid SA, and Haida a solid ship, especially when considering her low cost. Don't hesitate to throw Haida into any Commonwealth or Allied build to bolster its capabilities against submarines or smaller surface vessels, but as with most destroyers, some fighter cover is usually needed to see them safely to the middle of the map.

Rengokuy
Haida is the strongest Canadian ship available thus far. She also has a very generous main battery and sub - par torpedo attack when compared to other allied destroyers. Along with a SA that boosts attack vs destroyers. Overall she is an decent unit that, if one disregards Long Lance Torpedoes, is better and less expensive than all axis destroyers thus far. (Torpedo boats excluded) Her SA "Destroyer Hunter" is only rarely useful, sometimes allowing her to vital an opposing destroyer, fortunately it is not a major factor in her pricing. Her main guns are rated so high that she rarely misses a destroyer, and can take on an armor 3 or 4 ship as well and still hit enough. Likewise, range 2 torpedoes means that she can both shoot and torpedo the same piece in one turn, potentially making her capable of dropping a Hull 3 in a single turn. Her cost is low, but still don't depend on them as your main destroyer, or as a cruiser replacement. Thanks to a steady 1/1/1/- torpedo attack she falls under other allied destroyers, as she has much less value when fighting larger ships. Bring one or two to help mop up destroyers early on, then, if she is still alive fill in any gap needed.

mercenary_moose
When you look at Haida, compare her to Arunta. Both ships have beastly guns (for destroyers), a strong ASW rating along with the lethal Sub Hunter ability, and a low cost balanced out by weak torps and mediocre AA. The difference between the two ships is in the SAs. Haida gets Destroyer Hunter while Arunta gets Close Escort instead. What ship you'll take depends on what you're looking for. Haida's one extra roll against a destroyer seems like a wasted ability until you see that her guns are already borderline vitaling most enemy destroyers and that additional die may put you over the top. When facing the Japanese, that's a great thing to have. The sooner you can get those damn Long Lances out of the water, the better. Arunta's Close Escort, meanwhile, gives you additional AA in a sector, big enough guns to drill whatever little destroyers or auxillilaries your bigger boats don't have time for, and a sub-defense blanket that allows you to jump any submarine that comes within torpedo range of your sector. Both Arunta and Haida are pretty much interchangeable, and for the cost, maybe having both in a Commonwealth fleet isn't a bad idea either.

Plastic Figure Notes:

TF_HMCS-Haida.jpg
page revision: 14, last edited: 30 Mar 2013 23:12
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