HMS Penelope

Nine ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Penelope, after the faithful wife Penelope of Greek mythology.

• The first HMS Penelope (1778) was a 24-gun sixth rate launched in 1778 and captured by her Spanish prisoners in 1780.
• The second HMS Penelope (1783) was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1783 and broken up 1797.
• The third HMS Penelope (1798) was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1798 and wrecked in 1815.
• The fourth HMS Penelope (1829) was a 46-gun fifth rate launched in 1829 but completed in 1843 as a paddle frigate, and sold for breakup in 1864.
• The fifth HMS Penelope (1867) was an armoured corvette launched in 1867 that became a prison hulk in 1897 and was sold in 1912.
• The sixth HMS Penelope (1914) was an Arethusa-class light cruiser launched in 1914 and sold in 1924.
• The seventh HMS Penelope (1918) was a tender purchased in 1918 and sold in 1922.
• The eighth HMS Penelope (97) was an Arethusa-class light cruiser launched in 1935 and sunk off Naples in 1944.
• The ninth HMS Penelope (F127) was a Leander-class frigate launched in 1962 and sold to Ecuador in 1991, which operated her as Presidente Eloy Alfaro.

Battle honours

Ships named Penelope have earned the following battle honours:

• Guillaume Tell, 1800
• Egypt, 1801
• Martinique, 1809
• Baltic, 1854
• Alexandria, 1882
• Norway, 1940
• Mediterranean, 1941−43
• Malta Convoys, 1941−42
• Sirte, 1942
• Sicily, 1943
• Salerno, 1943
• Aegean, 1943
• Anzio, 1944
• Falkland Islands, 1982

See also

• Hired armed cutter Penelope