HMS Penelope explained

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

• The first was a 24-gun sixth rate launched in 1778 and captured by her Spanish prisoners in 1780.
• The second was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1783 and broken up 1797.
• The third was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1798 and wrecked in 1815.
• The fourth 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 was an armoured corvette launched in 1867 that became a prison hulk in 1897 and was sold in 1912.
• The sixth was an light cruiser launched in 1914 and sold in 1924.
• The seventh was a tender purchased in 1918 and sold in 1922.
• The eighth was an light cruiser launched in 1935 and sunk off Naples in 1944.
• The ninth was a 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