The 'Painted' Canadian Destroyer That Germany Mistook For A Cruiser In Every Night Battle скачать в хорошем качестве

The 'Painted' Canadian Destroyer That Germany Mistook For A Cruiser In Every Night Battle

June 9, 1944. Three days after D-Day. A German destroyer captain peers through binoculars at star shell burning above his ship. His vessel displaces 3,600 tons. She carries five 5.9-inch guns. She's one of the most powerful destroyers in the enemy fleet. He reports encountering "two cruisers with high superstructures." He beaches his own ship on a French island rather than fight. But there are no cruisers in those waters. What he's looking at — painted in pale blue and off-white camouflage, firing 60-72 rounds per minute — are two Tribal-class destroyers half his displacement. HMCS Haida was built from a rejected cruiser blueprint. Eight guns in four twin turrets. Cruiser silhouette. Cruiser firepower. But no armour and the word "destroyer" on her classification. Her Western Approaches camouflage — pale blue, off-white, pastel ghost scheme — made visual identification impossible at night. The Germans mistook her for a cruiser in every engagement. They were wrong about what she was. They were right about being outgunned. 14 enemy vessels sunk. The fightingest ship in the Royal Canadian Navy. Today she's the last surviving Tribal-class destroyer on earth — preserved at Hamilton, Ontario. #WW2 #HMCSHaida #RoyalCanadianNavy #TribalClass #WWII #GhostShip #NavalHistory #WorldWarTwo #MilitaryHistory #BritishDesign #DestroyerVsCruiser #EnglishChannel #DDay #NightAction #NavalCamouflage #WesternApproaches #HarryDeWolf #NavalWarfare #Fightingest #Hamilton