HMS Penn (Pennant G77) was an escort destroyer

Destroyer escort

A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...

 of the P Class

O and P class destroyer

The O and P class was a class of destroyers of the British Royal Navy. Ordered in 1939, they were the first ships in the War Emergency Programme, also known as the 1st and 2nd Emergency Flotilla, respectively...

. Penn was ordered by the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 under the Wartime Emergency Programme, in the early part of the Second World War and was laid down at the Newcastle-on-Tyne yard of Vickers Armstrong on 26 December 1939.

Service

HMS Penn was launched on 12 February 1941. She was commissioned into the fleet on 10 February 1942.

HMS Penn was involved in the Operation Pedestal

Operation Pedestal

Operation Pedestal was a British operation to get desperately needed supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was the base from which surface ships, submarines and aircraft attacked Axis convoys carrying essential supplies to the Italian and German armies...

, a convoy to bring much needed reinforcements to Malta. During the course of this operation she helped tow the damaged SS Ohio

SS Ohio

The SS Ohio was an oil tanker built for the Texas Oil Company ; she was the largest oil tanker in the world when she was built. The tanker was launched on April 20, 1940 at the Sun Shipbuilding Yard in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. SS Ohio was capable of doing over at sea...

 with her vital supplies of fuel into Grand Harbour

Grand Harbour

Grand Harbour is a natural harbour on the island of Malta. It has been used as a harbour since at least Phoenician times...

, Valletta

Valletta

Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...

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On 7 November 1943 HMS Penn with HMS Pathfinder

HMS Pathfinder

Two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Pathfinder., launched in 1904, was a light cruiser, the lead ship of her class. She was sunk at the start of World War I by U-21, becoming the first ship to ever be sunk by a torpedo fired by submarine., launched in 1941, was a P-class destroyer...

 sank the German submarine trap GA45 off Amorgos

Amorgos

Amorgos is the easternmost island of the Greek Cyclades island group, and the nearest island to the neighboring Dodecanese island group. Along with several neighboring islets, the largest of which is Nikouria Island, it comprises the municipality of Amorgos, which has a land area of...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

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On 15 June 1945 Penn with Paladin

HMS Paladin (G69)

HMS Paladin was a P-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War. She was built by John Brown and Co. Ltd., Clydebank...

 sank a Japanese landing craft

Landing craft

Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...

 off the Northwest coast of Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...

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Penn was sold for scrap on 30 October 1950.