HMCS Niobe
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HMCS Niobe was a Diadem class cruiser built for the Royal Navy and served until 1920, patrolling in World War I and training the first generation of Canadian naval recruits.. Along with HMCS Rainbow, became the first ships of the Royal Canadian Navy in 1910 by the Admiralty.
Royal Navy Service
Built for Britain's Royal Navy by Vickers in Barrow, she was launched in early 1897 and entered service in 1898. HMS Niobe served initially with the Channel Fleet and later in in the Boer War (1899-1900) and where she earned the battle honour 'South Africa'.Royal Canadian Navy Service
At 11,000 tonnes, her large size proved a burden for Canada's young navy. Niobe spent much of her career in port; including spending 18 months straight in port after running aground off Newfoundland in 1911. She went to war in 1914, intercepting German ships along the American coast for a year with the North America and West Indies Station.
For the remainder of the war, she served as a depot and headquarters ship in the Halifax Dockyard. Several of her crew were killed and she was damaged by the Halifax Explosion in 1917. She continued however to serve as a depot ship until 1920 when she was sold for scrap and broken up in 1922 in Philadelphia.
Specifications
- Crew: 677
- Length 435 feet (462 feet 6 inches overall)
- Beam 69 feet
- Draught 25 feet 6 inches
- Displacement 11,00 tons
- Propulsion: 2 shaft triple expansion engines, 16.500/18,000 ihp, 20/20.5 knots
- Armour: 6in gun shields, 4.5-2in decks
- Armament: 16 x 6in Mk VII (16 x 1), 14 x 12pounder (14 x 1), 3 x 3pounder (3 x 1), 2 x 18in TT
References
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