SMS Niobe SMS " Niobe " ( " His Majesty ' s Ship " Niobe " " ) was the second member of the ten - ship of light cruiser s built by the Imperial German Navy . She was built by the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen , laid down in 1898 , launched in July 1899 , and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet in June 1900 . She was named after Niobe , a figure from Greek mythology . Armed with a main battery of ten guns and two torpedo tube s , " Niobe " was capable of a top speed of . The ship had a long career , serving in all three German navies , along with the Yugoslavian and Italian fleets over the span of over 40 years in service . " Niobe " served in both home and overseas waters in the Imperial Navy , before being reduced to a coastal defense ship after the outbreak of World War I . She survived the conflict and was one of six cruisers permitted to the " Reichsmarine " by the Treaty of Versailles . In 1925 , the German Navy sold the ship to Yugoslavia , where she was renamed " Dalmacija " and served until April 1941 , when she was captured by Italian forces during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia . Renamed " Cattaro " , she served in the Italian " Regia Marina " until the Italian surrender in September 1943 . She was seized by the German occupiers of Italy , who restored her original name . She was used in the Adriatic briefly until December 1943 , when she ran aground on the island of Silba , and was subsequently destroyed by British Motor Torpedo Boat s . The wreck was ultimately salvaged and broken up for scrap in 1947 – 1949 . Construction . " Niobe " was ordered under the contract name " B " and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in 1898 and launched on 18 July 1899 , after which fitting - out work commenced . She was commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 25 June 1900 . The ship was long overall and had a beam of and a draft of forward . She displaced at full combat load . Her propulsion system consisted of two triple - expansion engine s manufactured by AG - Germania . They were designed to give , for a top speed of . The engines were powered by eight coal - fired Thornycroft water - tube boilers . " Niobe " carried of coal , which gave her a range of at . She had a crew of 14 officers and 243 enlisted men . The ship was armed with ten 10 . 5 cm SK L / 40 guns in single mounts . Two were placed side by side forward on the forecastle , six were located amidships , three on either side , and two were placed side by side aft . The guns could engage targets out to . They were supplied with 1 , 000 rounds of ammunition , for 100 shells per gun . She was also equipped with two torpedo tube s with five torpedo es . They were submerged in the hull on the broadside . The ship was protected by an armored deck that was thick . The conning tower had thick sides , and the guns were protected by thick shields . Service history . After her commissioning , " Niobe " served with the fleet in German waters . In 1902 , " Niobe " was assigned to the Cruiser Division of the I Squadron of the German home fleet . The Division consisted of the armored cruiser , the flagship , , , and the light cruisers and . The Division participated in the summer fleet maneuvers of August – September 1902 . Starting in October of that year , she served as the flagship of Franz von Hipper , who at the time commanded the Second Torpedo Unit . In 1906 , she was sent overseas and remained on colonial duties until 1909 , when she returned to Germany . After the outbreak of World War I in August 1914 , she was reduced to a coastal defense ship . She served in this role until 1915 , when she was converted into a floating office in Wilhelmshaven . During this period , she again served under Hipper , who used her as his headquarters . In 1917 , she was disarmed so her guns could be used to reinforce the defenses of Wilhelmshaven . " Niobe " was among the ships permitted by the Treaty of Versailles after the end of the war , and so she continued on in service with the newly reorganized " Reichsmarine " . During this period , she was significantly modernized ; her old ram bow was replaced with a clipper bow . Her old 10 . 5 cm SK L / 40 guns were replaced with newer SK L / 45 guns in U - boat mountings and two torpedo tubes in deck - mounted launchers were installed . On 26 June 1925 , " Niobe " was stricken from the naval register and sold to Yugoslavia . Yugoslavian service . Yugoslavia had initially been given the old Austro - Hungarian Navy after the dissolution of the Empire in the closing days of World War I , but the Allied powers quickly seized the majority of the ships and allocated them to the various Allied countries . Left with only twelve modern torpedo boat s , Yugoslavia sought more powerful vessels . The Yugoslav Royal Navy therefore purchased " Niobe " when Germany placed her for sale in 1925 . Renamed " Dalmacija " ( Dalmatia ) , she was completely rearmed in 1926 before she entered Yugoslavian service . She was equipped with six Škoda 8 . 5 cm / 55 quick - firing guns , and initially four and later six anti - aircraft guns were added . After entering service , " Dalmacija " was employed as a gunnery training ship . In April 1941 , during the Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia , " Dalmacija " remained in harbor and did not see action . Following the Yugoslavian surrender , the ship was captured by the Italians in Kotor on 25 April . Renamed " Cattaro " , the ship was placed in service with the " Regia Marina " . On 31 July 1942 , the cruiser was attacked by the British submarine south of Premantura but all of the torpedoes missed . Return to German service . After the Italian capitulation she was captured by the Germans on 11 September 1943 , and renamed " Niobe " . Her armament was again revised , this time consisting of six anti - aircraft guns , four anti - aircraft guns , four 20 mm Oerlikon anti - aircraft guns , and twenty - six 20 mm Breda anti - aircraft guns , and she was commissioned on 8 November . On the night of 21 – 22 September , while she was still refitting , two British Motor Torpedo Boat s — " MTB 226 " and " MTB 228 " — attacked the ship to the northwest of Zara without success . On 13 November , " Niobe " escorted several transports carrying units from the 7th Infantry Division to the islands of Cres , Krk , and Lussino . On 19 December , " Niobe " ran aground on the island of Silba . Three days later , the British Motor Torpedo Boats " MTB 276 " and " MTB 298 " attacked the ship and hit her with two torpedoes ; nineteen men were killed in the attack . The Germans then abandoned the wreck , which was later cannibalized for spare parts by Yugoslavian Partisans . The wreck remained on Silba until 1947 , when salvage operations began . She was raised and broken up for scrap by 1949 .