HMS Penshurst
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | Penshurst |
| Launched: | 1906 |
| Commissioned: | Dec 1915 |
| In service: | 1915-1917 |
| Fate: | sunk 25 Dec 1917 |
| Notes: | Converted to Q-Ship at Longhope Bay, Orkney |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | steamer |
| Tonnage: | |
| Length: | 232 ft oa |
| Beam: | 35 ft 2 in |
| Draught: | 14 ft 6 in |
| Propulsion: | steam |
| Speed: | 10 knots |
| Armament: |
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HMS Penshurst was a Royal Navy warship that was active during World War I. She was a Special Service Vessel (also known as Q-ships) whose function was to act as a decoy, inviting attack by a U-boat in order to engage and (if possible) destroy it. Penshurst fought a number of engagements against German U-boats during her service, and was successful on two occasions, destroying UB-19 in November 1916, and UB-37 in January 1917. Penshurst was sunk following an action with U-110 in December 1917.
Penshurst was built in 1906 as a cargo steamer, and had an uneventful peacetime career before the start of World War I. In 1915 she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for conversion into a special service vessel. She was taken in hand at Longhope, part of the Scapa Flow naval base in the Orkney Islands. She was armed with five guns originally; this was increased later in the campaign. These were a 12 pounder, two 6 pdr and two 3 pdr guns, hidden behind screens and dummy fixtures. Penshurst was manned with a volunteer crew and commanded by Cdr FH Grenfell. She commissioned on 6 November 1915.
Penshurst commenced operations around the North coast of Scotland before being transferred in spring 1916 to Queenstown, operating around the coast of Ireland and in the English Channel. For almost a year she had little success; during 1916 the German Navy had scaled down their U-boat operations against commerce around Britain, and there were few contacts in this theatre.
On 29 November 1916 Penshurst fell in with a U-boat which was attacking the steamer Wileyside. Penshurst was able to approach to 3000 yards before the U-boat ordered her to stop. Grenfell's crew went through their "abandon ship" evolution, putting out boats manned by a "panic party", while Penshurst stopped, waiting for the U-boat to come closer. However the U-boat declined to come closer, and with it partly hidden in the glare of the setting sun Penshurst opened fire. She got several shots off before the U-boat dived, and closed to drop depth charges on the spot, but the U-boat (which was unidentified) escaped.
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