HMS Penn (1916)

Penn was laid down by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, alongside sister ship Peregrine, on 9 June 1915 with the yard number 447, launched on 8 April the following year and completed on 31 May.^[4] The vessel was the first to be named after the naval officer Admiral William Penn, the father of the founder of Pennsylvania.^[12] The vessel was deployed as part of the Grand Fleet, joining the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla.^[13]

The destroyer spent most of the war as part of the screen for the 1st Battle Squadron. A key role was to protect the dreadnought battleships of the squadron from German submarines. As part in the Action of 19 August 1916, the ship was dispatched to support the light cruiser Nottingham, which was sunk by torpedo launched by the submarine U-52.^[14] The destroyer sped to the spot to pick up survivors, weaving to avoid the same fate. Despite the cold water, the destroyer managed to save most of the crew.^[15] Returned to screen the squadron, Penn subsequently sighted a submarine and helped to fend off attacks by Zeppelin airships against the British warships.^[16]

On 18 January 1917, the destroyer, equipped with anti-submarine paravanes, was one of six used for high speed sweeps of Dogger Bank, although no submarines were found during the operation.^[17] The vessel remained part of the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla based at Rosyth.^[18] On 16 October, the destroyer participated in the Action off Lerwick, escorting the aircraft carrier Furious, which launched aircraft to search for enemy ships.^[19] Penn rejoined the screen for the 1st Battle Squadron in time for the Second Battle of Heligoland Bight the following month.^[20] The squadron did not engage with the German force, which was able to escape through a minefield.^[21] The destroyer was subsequently transferred to the Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla.^[22] The flotilla took part in the Royal Navy's response to one of the final sorties of the German High Seas Fleet during the First World War, on 24 April 1918, although the two fleets did not actually meet and the destroyer saw no action.^[23]

After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 that ended the war, the Royal Navy returned to a peacetime level of strength and both the number of ships and personnel needed to be reduced to save money.^[24] Penn was declared superfluous to operational requirements. On 17 October 1919, the destroyer was reduced and placed in reserve.^[25] However, this did not last long. The harsh conditions of wartime operations, particularly the combination of high speed and the poor weather that is typical of the North Sea, exacerbated by the fact that the hull was not galvanised, meant that the Admiralty decided to retire the ship.^[26] On 31 October 1921, Penn was sold to be broken up to W. & A.T. Burdon.^[27]

• Bush, Steve; Warlow, Ben (2021). Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy: A Complete History of the Allocation of Pendant Numbers to Royal Navy Warships & Auxiliaries. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-526793-78-2.
• Colledge, J.J.; Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy. London: Chatham Press. ISBN 978-1-93514-907-1.
• Corbett, Julian S. (1920). Naval Operations: Volume III. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894619.
• Dittmar, F.J.; Colledge, J.J. (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71100-380-4.
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• Johnston, Ian (2014). A Shipyard at War: Unseen Photographs of John Brown & Co. Ltd, Clydebank, 1914–18. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-189-1.
• Manning, Thomas Davys; Walker, Charles Frederick (1959). British Warship Names. London: Putnam. OCLC 780274698.
• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
• McBride, Keith (1991). "British 'M' Class Destroyers of 1913–14". In Gardiner, Robert (ed.). Warship 1991. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 34–49. ISBN 978-0-85177-582-1.
• Monograph No. 33: Home Waters: Part VII: From June 1916 to November 1916 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVII. Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1927.
• Monograph No. 34: Home Waters—Part VIII: December 1916 to April 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XVIII. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1933.
• Monograph No. 35: Home Waters—Part IX.: 1st May, 1917 to 31st July, 1917 (PDF). Naval Staff Monographs (Historical). Vol. XIX. The Naval Staff, Training and Staff Duties Division. 1939.
• Moretz, Joseph (2002). The Royal Navy and the Capital Ship in the Interwar Period. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-71465-196-5.
• Newbolt, Henry (1928). Naval Operations: Volume IV. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 1049894132.
• Newbolt, Henry (1931). Naval Operations: Volume V. History of the Great War. London: Longmans, Green and Co. OCLC 220475309.
• Parkes, Oscar; Prendergast, Maurice (1969). Jane's Fighting Ships 1919. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. OCLC 907574860.
• Preston, Antony (1985). "Great Britain and Empire Forces". In Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (eds.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 1–104. ISBN 978-0-85177-245-5.