HMS Spey (K246) was a British frigate from the Second World War. The keel for this unit was laid in July 1941, the launch took place in December of the same year, and the entry into service with the Royal Navy took place in May 1942. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 91.8 meters and a width of 11.2 meters. Full displacement reached approx. 2,150 tons, and maximum speed up to approx. 20-21 knots. The armament at the time of launching consisted of, among others: two single 102 mm guns, ten AA cannons. 20 mm caliber and a single Hedgehog device, i.e. a multi-guide depth charge launcher.
HMS Spey (K246) was one of the River-class frigates with a total of 151 units! Frigates of this type were built in 1941-1944 primarily as convoy protection ships, and their main task was anti-submarine combat (ZOP). At the same time, the River frigates were designed to be as cheap and as simple to manufacture as possible, which was fully successful. Thanks to this, they could also be built in fully civilian shipyards. One of such units was HMS Spey (K246), which was built in the shipyard Smiths Dock Company. The presented frigate spent a significant part of its combat career during World War II on carrying out convoy tasks in the Atlantic, but in 1945 it was sent to the Far East, where it covered Allied landings in the region of Burma (January 1945). After World War II, the unit was handed over to the Egyptian fleet. There, it was only crossed off the fleet list in 1990!
HMS Penelope was a British light cruiser of the interwar period and World War II. The keel for this unit was laid in 1934, the launch took place in October 1935, and the entry into service - in 1936. The total length of the unit was 154.3 meters and a width of 15.56 meters. The maximum speed was around 32-33 knots. The ship's on-board armament included: 6 152 mm guns, 8 102 mm AA guns and 8 40 mm AA guns. Until 1940, the unit could operate one seaplane.
HMS Penelope was one of the Arethusa-class cruisers. Units of this type were intended for operations in larger groups of Royal Navy ships, and their main intended purpose was to recognize and combat enemy light surface units. The overall structure of the Arethusa-class units clearly resembled the Perth-class cruisers, but with a smaller size, reduced main weapons, and weaker armor. One of the ships of this type was HMS Penelope, which took a very active part in World War II. It began its combat path in this conflict with participation in the Norwegian operation in 1940. Later - in the years 1941-1942 - it was ferry to the Mediterranean Sea and took part in the protection of convoys heading to Malta. It also took part in supporting Allied landing operations in Sicily and at Salerno in 1943. At the beginning of 1944, she also supported the Anzio landing. The cruiser was sunk by the German submarine U-410 on February 18, 1944.