Of the various clubs formed by the naval forces during the Korean war , the most renowned was that of an group that focused on the destruction of trains which ran the deadly gauntlet in the Taeback Mountain range. The Trainbusters Club (TBC) saw its beginnings in July 1952 when the American destroyer Orleck destroyed two trains during a two week period. The commander of Task Force 95, recognizing a morale booster when he saw one, declared Orleck the trainbusting champion and issued a challenge to the rest of the American task group to beat that score.The TBC was initially considered to be a United States Navy project. In the spirit of fairness and competition, the challenge to destroy trains was eventually extended to ships from other navies. Had the idea of the TBC been formed sooner, many more ships would have qualified for membership and the official count of 28 trains destroyed would have been much greater. The first rule for admittance to the 'club' and the membership fee, required that the train's engine be destroyed. After that, any damage inflicted to a train would be counted as a kill regardless of the fate of the engine. Rules were so strictly enforced that all kills recorded were legitimate. Membership, however, was difficult because of the engine clause. Trains that were southbound and laden with war material were considered much more valuable targets than northbound trains which were essentially empty. Korean train engineers soon learned what 'hell on earth' meant. They too, were brave men. They found themselves dodging shell explosions just a few feet ahead of their travel. They took their trains across damaged tracks and trestles which swayed precariously. They did their utmost to save the trains by attempting repairs. During daylight, they hid in tunnels hoping that the entrances and exits did not get blocked by the persistent and accurate shelling of the naval guns.

Out of the twenty-eight kills officially tallied by the TBC, the RCN accounted for eight. CRUSADER, HAIDA, and ATHABASKAN were collectively credited with that number. That gave the RCN the proportional record which was a significant feat in itself. The main achievement, however, was the winning of the championship by HMCS CRUSADER, who bagged four trains, three of them in a single twenty four hour period. The business of trainbusting was based on extreme patience, a degree of luck and superb gunnery. Often the Korean weather kept ships far out at sea so the guns were operating at maximum range and had to be able to hit a speeding target. Poor weather also made verification of damage very difficult.

HMCS HAIDA arrived in Korea on November 6, 1952 when action was already waning. Her crew were well aware of their ship's history and they were determined to make Korea a prominent page of that book. It was imperative that HAIDA join the TBC if only to add one more item to her list of accomplishments. The opportunity came at 0300 hours on December 19 near Sonjin but was lost when the engine escaped. Her gunners pounded the rest of the train but their hearts were not in it. They left most of the cars standing as a 'gift' to USS THE SULLIVANS when that ship came on the scene at 0516 hours. HAIDA'S crew reasoned that their chances of joining the TBC had slipped because of the escaped engine and their orders to proceed to Sasebo Japan within a few hours. HAIDA returned the following March for a two week patrol. During that time, only one engine was seen and fired on. The range was too great and once again the ship went away empty handed.

On May 26, at 2215 hours, HAIDA was anchored near Tanch'on. The night was bright under clear skies and the sea was calm. Both 'A' and 'B' guns were closed up to action stations and now it was a case of waiting. At 2320, a train was spotted. Carefully, the guns were swung to lead the engine and fired. Seconds later, the shells found their mark. The engine, hit dead center, exploded and toppled onto its side while the trailing cars spilled along the track. HAIDA had finally joined the 'club'. For the next three hours, her guns hammered the remainder of the train. Three days later, HAIDA was back, this time several kilometers south of Sonjin. At 2200, a train was sighted, heading north. All guns opened fire and forced the train to come to a standstill. Starshell revealed that the engine was yards short of the safety afforded by a tunnel. Scant seconds gave the trainmen the time they needed to uncouple the engine and move it into the tunnel but it was too late for the rest of the train.

During her first tour of duty in Korea, Canada's most celebrated warship ran up a total of six east coast and three west coast patrols. HAIDA spent more than half of her 217 days in Korea on active patrol, was fired on twice by shore batteries and both times destroyed her assailants. Two of her ship's company earned honours for their service. The Distinguished Service Cross went to her Commanding Officer, Cdr. Dunn Lantier, RCN while PO Ralph Smith earned a Mention-in-Dispatches for some superb gun-laying while downing a bridge. Officially, HAIDA was credited for the destruction of 2.5 trains in Korea.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thunder in the Morning Calm: The Royal Canadian Navy in Korea 1950- 1955. Edward C. Myers. Vanwell Publishing Ltd., St. Catharines Ont; 1992