HMS Penelope (97)

HMS Penelope at Spithead, December 1942
History
United Kingdom
NamePenelope
BuilderHarland & Wolff, Belfast
Yard number940[1]
Laid down30 May 1934
Launched15 October 1935
Completed15 November 1936[1]
Commissioned13 November 1936
IdentificationPennant number: 97
FateTorpedoed and sunk by U-410, 18 February 1944
General characteristics
Class and typeArethusa-class light cruiser
Displacement
  • 5,220 tons standard load
  • 6,665 tons full load
Length506 ft (154 m)
Beam51 ft (16 m)
Draught14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion
  • Four Parsons geared steam turbines
  • Four Admiralty 3-drum oil-fired boilers
  • Four shafts
  • 64,000 shp
Speed32 knots (59 km/h)
RangeUnknown; 1,325 tons fuel oil
Complement500
Armament
Armour
Aircraft carriedOne aircraft (later removed).

HMS Penelope was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Harland & Wolff (Belfast, Northern Ireland); her keel was laid down on 30 May 1934. She was launched on 15 October 1935, and commissioned 13 November 1936. She was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-boat U-410 near Naples with great loss of life on 18 February 1944. On wartime service with Force K, she was holed so many times by bomb fragments that she acquired the nickname "HMS Pepperpot".

  1. ^ a b McCluskie 2013, p. 144.