Haida's size directly challenges the usual description of destroyers as a navy's little ships. From the quayside, her hull dwarfs someone just under six feet tall. Atlantic and Pacific distances required a substantial hull that could operate with fast carriers and capital ships. Her scale follows from the range and speed needed to protect those fleet units across vast oceans.
Notable Point · 3:38-4:14
Why ocean-going destroyers had to be large
Haida's physical scale shows why destroyers serving fast fleets across Atlantic and Pacific distances could not be truly small ships.