HMS Niobe (1897)

HMS "Niobe" was a ship of the "Diadem"-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy. She served in the Boer War and was then given to Canada to form part of their first independent navy as HMCS "Niobe".Worn out and damaged in a shipyard explosion she was scrapped in the 1920s.

Career

She was built by Vickers Limited, Barrow-in-Furness and launched on February 20 1897 entering service in 1898.

She was part of the Channel Squadron at the outbreak of the Boer War (1899-1900), and was sent to Gibraltar to escort troop transports ferrying reinforcements to the Cape. On 4 December 1899, "Niobe" and HMS "Doris" rescued troops from the SS "Ismore", which had run aground. She saw further action in the Boer War and the Queen's South Africa Medal was subsequently awarded to the crew.

She returned to the Channel, but later escorted vessels as far as Colombo [http://www.nhcra-online.org/20c/german.htm Diary of a seaman on "Niobe"]

She and HMS "Rainbow" were given to the Dominion of Canada to form part of the new Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). She was transferred to the RCN on September 6 1910, commissioning at Devonport Dockyard and reaching Halifax on October 21 that year. After running aground off Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, on the night of July 30-31 July 1911. Repairs took 18 months and she had a permanently reduced maximum speed as a result. With the outbreak of the First World War she joined the Royal Navy's 4th Cruiser Squadron on the North America and West Indies Station. She was engaged in intercepting German ships along the American coast for a year until as a result of being worn out, she was paid off on 6 September 1915 to become a depot ship in Halifax. The Halifax Explosion of 1917 caused serious damage to upper works , and the deaths of several of her crew. However she remained in use as a depot ship until disposed of in 1920, decommissioned and sold for scrap. She was broken up in 1922 in Philadelphia. [http://www.navy.gc.ca/project_pride/ships/ship_e.asp?shipNumber=64 Canadian Navy Heritage] accessed 6th April 2008]

Commanding Officers

* Commander W.B.MacDonald RN 6 September 1910 - ?
* Lt Commander C.E.Aglionby RN 20 June 1913 - ?
*Captain R.G.Corbett RN 15 August 1914 - 1 September 1915
* A(Acting)/Commander P.F.Newcombe RN 16 October 1916 - ?
* Commander H.E.Holme RCN 22 December 1917 - 1 June 1920

ee also

*warship|HMCS|Niobe for her service in the Royal Canadian Navy.

Notes

References

*Colledge
* Macpherson, Keneth R. and Burgess, John. (1982) (Second Printing) "The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-1981". Collins Publishers. ISBN 0-00-216856-1
* [http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/armoured-cruiser/hms-diadem.html Diadem class at worldwar1.co.uk]