 HMCS Niobe |
|
| Career Canada |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | Diadem class cruiser |
| Builder: | Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down: | 1895-12-01 |
| Launched: | 1897-02-20 |
| Commissioned: | 1910-09-06 |
| Decommissioned: | 1915-09-06 |
| Status: | |
| Homeport: | Halifax |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 11,000 tons |
| Length: | 435 ft (462.5 ft overall) |
| Beam: | 69 feet (21.0 m) |
| Draught: | 25.5 feet (7.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft triple expansion engines, 16.500/18,000 ihp |
| Speed: | 20/20.5 knots |
| Complement: | 677 |
| Armament: | 16 x 6in Mk VII (16 x 1), 12 x 12 pounder (14 x 1), 5 x 3 pounder (3 x 1), 2 x 18 inch TT (Torpedo Tubes) |
| Armour: | 6in gun shields, 4.5-2in decks |
HMCS Niobe was a Diadem class cruiser built for the Royal Navy which served until 1920, patrolling in World War I and training the first generation of Canadian naval recruits. Along with HMCS Rainbow, she became one of the first ships of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1910 on being presented by the Admiralty to the Dominion of Canada's fledgling Navy.
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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 the Boer War (1899-1900), where she earned the battle honour "South Africa". She was part of the Channel Squadron at the outbreak of Boer War and got sent to Gibraltar to accompany troop transporters ferrying reinforcements to the Cape. On 4 December 1899, the Niobe assisted HMS Doris rescuing troops that were aboard S.S. Ismore, which ran aground. Further action in the Boer War resulted in the award of the Queens South Africa Medal to the crew. There are two stereo photos of the crew of Niobe in 1900 at Cape Town available from library resources
Royal Canadian Navy Service
Niobe was commissioned into the RCN at Devonport, England on September 6, 1910. She arrived in Halifax on October 21, 1910. 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 Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, on the night of July 30-31, 1911. She went to war in 1914, with the Royal Navy's 4th Cruiser Squadron, intercepting German ships along the American coast for a year with the North America and West Indies Station. After significant operations which resulted in Niobe being worn to ineffectiveness, she returned to Halifax on July 17, 1915. 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 Paid Off and sold for scrap and broken up in 1922 in Philadelphia.
Commanding Officers
- CDR W.B.MacDonald (RN) 6/9/1910 - ?
- LCDR C.E.Aglionby (RN) 20/6/1913 - ?
- CAPT R.G.Corbett (RN) 15/8/1914 - 1/9/1915
- A(Acting)/CDR P.F.Newcombe (RN) 16/10/1916 - ?
- CDR H.E.Holme (RCN) 22/12/1917 - 1/6/1920
See also
- HMS Niobe for her career in the Royal Navy.
References
- Canadian Navy Heritage
- Diadem class
- HMCS Niobe
- 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
