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The Queen attends an event in Halifax at the start of an eight-day tour of Canada.Chris Jackson

One of Canada's most storied warships was honoured Tuesday with the presentation of an award from the World Ship Trust presented by the Duke of Edinburgh.

HMCS Haida, a Tribal class destroyer designed and built in Britain in the late 1930s, saw action in two wars before being retired and turned into a floating museum in 1963.

Prince Philip presented a certificate bestowing Haida with the trust's International Maritime Heritage Award to two officials from Parks Canada, Alan Latourelle and Alice Willems. It is only the 30th ship to receive the honour.

Commander Eric Berryman of the U.S. navy and a member of the World Ship Trust paid tribute to Haida's history.

"She epitomizes the fine record and incredible expansion of the Royal Canadian Navy during the years of hostility and also went into service in Korea," said Cmdr. Berryman.

On handing the certificate to Ms. Willems, the prince joked: "You can hang this up somewhere, not in your bathroom."

Haida is permanently tied up in Hamilton, where it serves as a naval museum and Canadian historic site.

The Tribals were the first destroyers to incorporate twin gun mountings, making them exceptionally powerful for their size.

In all, 27 were built, eight for the Canadian navy of which one, Athabaskan, was lost in the Second World War.

In the fall of 1943, Haida operated with the Royal Navy to assist with convoy escort duties to northern Russia on the Murmansk run.

On Dec 26, 1943, she was at the Battle of North Cape when the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst was sunk. In 1944, Haida helped clear enemy shipping off the coast of France in anticipation of the D-Day landings.

Her crew gained a reputation for destroying more enemy vessels than any other ship in the Royal Canadian Navy.

Haida sailed with Canada's Atlantic Fleet in the post-war years and did two tours during the Korean conflict before being taken out of service in 1963.

Alarmed that she would be sold for scrap, a group of supporters raised enough money to buy the vessel and have her towed to Toronto, where she served for several years as a naval museum, maritime memorial and Sea Cadet training ship.

The ship was purchased by Parks Canada in 2002, refitted and towed to Hamilton for permanent display.

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