Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 19, 2024
SMS Niobe (launched 1899) was a light cruiser of the Gazelle class, built for the German Imperial Navy. Niobe was armed with ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and had a top speed of 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph). The ship served as a flotilla leader for torpedo boats, a scout for the fleet, and a station ship with the East Asia Squadron. When World War I commenced Niobe helped defend Germany's North Sea coast. One of the cruisers permitted Germany by the Treaty of Versailles, Niobe was modernized, but was sold in 1925 to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia). Renamed Dalmacija the vessel served until April 1941, when she was captured by the Italians. Renamed again as Cattaro, she served until the Italian surrender in September 1943. Seized by the Germans, she was used in the Adriatic Sea until 19 December 1943, when she ran aground on the island of Silba, and was destroyed by British motor torpedo boats. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ships of the Royal Yugoslav Navy.)