BRIDGE

Command, Control and Communications are the three words which best describe the basic functions of the bridge. Every activity aboard the ship came under the "command" of the bridge. Command was exercised by the Captain, either personally or through the Officer of the Watch. This is the color scheme of the bridge during the Korean war era.  (Photo by Jerry Proc)

In the 1960s, the RCN started painting open bridges in this light fern green colour since this shade is very easy on the eyes. When HAIDA completed her 2002-3 refit, the paint scheme reverted to that in the above photo. In this photo, the binnacle has been removed for maintenance. (Photo by Jerry Proc)

HAIDA has an open bridge. When Tribals were designed in the late 1930's, all target sightings were visual in nature so it was imperative that all eyes had an unobstructed, 360 degree view of the horizon. In post war designs, as more and more electronics made its way to the bridge, it became a necessity to cover the bridge simply to protect the equipment. The additional climate comfort realized by the crew was simply a consequence of protecting the equipment. One can only imagine what is must have been like to stand watch on HAIDA's bridge during inclement weather conditions in the North Atlantic or on  the Murmansk run through the Arctic Ocean.

Because it is painted over, there is one major  point aabout the bridge that most are not aware of. To reduce the effects of stray magnetism on the wet compass, parts of the bridge and wheelhouse are fabricated with brass plate.  The brass plate starts just aft of the ladder and continues  forward to front of the bridge and includes the deck and bulkheads of the Wheelhoude House.

In the binnacle, there are lots of magnets that help to correct the readings  plus a variation chart for each compass . A  chart  would be kept  on the bridge in case they had to steer by magnetic compass alone.  The binnacle compass would be calibrated  on a range in Bedford Basin in a process called "swingimg the compass". The ship would be positioned on known  headings and then the magnets were adjusted so the wet compass produced a true reading.

1)      Target Designation Sight. For azimuth, the red ring rotates the entire sight. There is also a crank for elevation. A pair of binoculars (missing) was fitted to the top arm which is just  outside the view of the  photo.  There is an identical unit on the starboard side. Use: For  visual acquisition of targets.  2)    IC-KAA intercom. Use: Connects to two other units on the Flag Deck in the vicinity of the Flag Lockers.  3)    Remote Control for CM11 transmitter/receiver. but its not connected to any CM11. this was an abandoned project of the Nortown Radio Club circa 1985. HAIDA never had a CM11 remote control on the bridge.  4)    Remote Control Unit- 1 of 3 Use: Allows bridge personnel to use any VHF or  UHF radio channels (voice) . To participate in NATO exercises, each ship needed to have a minimum of  seven UHF voice channels.  5)    Pelorus Use:   A navigational instrument resembling a mariner's compass but without magnetic needles and having two sight vanes by which relative bearings are taken on an object/target of interest. The Pelorus is the stand which supports the gyro repeater for the bridge. The topmost portion is called the Azimuth ring and has been removed for safekeeping.  6)    Torpedo Bearing Indicator.  Its  hidden and ahead of the Pelorus in this view. Its face is marked with the words "RED" and "GREEN". To the top and slightly to the left of the bearing indicator are the sonar dome "Up/Down"  indicator lights.  7)    AN/SPA-4 radar repeater.  Use: A switch allows the SPA-4   to be connected to either the Sperry Mk 2 navigation radar or the AN/SPS-6C air search radar. “ Before the SPA-4 was installed,, there was a window in the deck which allowed bridge personnel to view the plot table in the Operations  Room below. The window had a little enclosure over it along with a curtain to keep out light.  8)    Wheelhouse viewing window.   Use: This window was added when the ship was berthed in Toronto in order that visitors could view the Wheelhouse from the bridge. 9)    AN/SPA-4 input selector switch.  Use: Selects one of two inputs for the SPA-4 display. - ie either the Sperry Mk2 or SPS-6C radars.  10)     Magnetic compass in binnacle but the binnacle is missing  Use:  Backup in case the gyrocompass fails. 11)     Voice Pipes (1 of 4)  Use: Aural/vocal  communications from the bridge to the Wheelhouse,  Operations Room, Transmitting Station and Radio 1.

Bridge instruments

Remote Torpedo Firing Station: (Starboard side)   No 1  is the Torpedo Aiming Sight It is mechanically connected to the No, 2 box which is a  Target Designation sight . The torpedo tubes  would be trained so so that they pointed outward and 90 degrees to the deck. To  aim the torpedo itself, the ship  had to be turned The #2  box had binoculars atop. The No 1 box had a firing rake  (aiming sight) on it but it is missing at this time.   #3 are the four  Firing Switches for the torpedoes.  The torpedoes could be fired locally in case the bridge was put out of action. This firing station was duplicated on the port side. No. 4 is a Loud Hailer. Additionally, there was a firing rake under the dome at the local operator's position on the torpedo tubes.

After end of the bridge. The red, sound powered telephone, connects to the Damage Control Office.

Port Aft end of the bridge.  The black boxes are actually jacks for point to point communications using sound powered hand sets. Both handsets had  to be plugged into the the particular circuit being used. These jacks were typically used by maintenance personnel  where the frequency of use could not justify the installation of a sound powered telephone. An example  of this might be someone working on the yardarm who wants to talk with a person on the bridge.

This is a Signalling station for the various signalling lights, When not in use, this station would be protected from the elements by a metal cover. A signalling station was fitted to each side of the bridge. 1) Illumination lamp. 2) Morse key for controlling the two infra red lights on the mast which were known as "Nancy". 3) Dimmer control for illumination lamp.  4 and 5) Morse keys for controlling  the Yardarm Flashing Lanterns and  Fighting Lights.

The bridge had four lookout positions, Each lookout was assigned to scan a different 90 degree arc of sea or sky.  Elevation and bearing could be read from a scale once the target was acquired.  A handle controlled the elevation. Because the seat and binoculars are missing it is had to tell the purpose of this device without some help.  Once the target was acquired visually, the bearing and elevation information would be passed on to the Officer of the Watch for further action.

All photos in this table by Jerry Proc

This was the scene on HAIDA's bridge as depicted in this photo taken in the late 1940's. Near the left side, note the rocket launcher for launching distress signals . (HMCS HAIDA Archives photo)

This picture of cold, sullen seas and ice-encrusted guns was taken from the bridge of HMCS Haida on March 20, 1961 at the height of a storm at sea.  (RCN Photo 0-13649-R taken by  Lt. J.J. Drent or Lt. Dave Molliet).

ANECDOTE

During the Sept 1944 to Nov 1944 refit, a viewing port was added to the bridge so that the captain could view the plotting table below in the Operations Room which was then called "The Plot". It seems straight forward, however there is a story behind the story as presented by Michael Whitby of the RCN Directorate of History.

"Like the other Tribals, HAIDA had an Action Information Organization installed up according to Admiralty instructions when she returned home to Canada. This encompassed a centralized Operations  Room known as The Plot  and other spaces to centralize tactical information from all sources This included an improved Broadcast net. It involved quite a lot of rearranging spaces in the bridge superstructure. Harry DeWolf , HAIDA's first Captain told me that rather than coming to his home in Ottawa when HAIDA arrived back in Canada , he decided to stay in Halifax instead. There, he wanted to ensure  that the new system was installed correctly since some the Tribals in the 10th Destroyer Flotilla,  had elements of the system and in particular, HMS Tartar.  One thing he corrected was the fitting of the View Trunk that enabled officers on the bridge to view the ARL/Tactical plot directly in the Plot. Originally the Halifax dockyard positioned the trunk so the CO viewed it while standing facing astern, This meant he had to flip everything 180 degrees in his mind. DeWolf thundered at the foreman, so the dockyard matey changed it so it was facing ahead. This is the benefit of talking directly with people"

Oct 12/21