SS Penelope Barker

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SS Penelope Barker was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Penelope Barker, a 1774 organizer of the Edenton Tea Party boycott.

The ship was laid down on October 28, 1942, by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company in the Cape Fear River yard and launched on December 1, 1942. She was operated for the War Shipping Administration by the North Atlantic & Gulf Steamship Company. Penelope Barker carried about 7,000 tons of deadweight, was 441 feet 6 inches long, 56 feet 11 inches wide, and had a draft of 27 feet 9 inches. She was powered by two oil-fired boilers and a triple-expansion steam engine driving a single propeller, capable of about 11 knots. Her cargo capacity was around 9,140 tons, and she had a crew of 41. Armament included one stern-mounted 4-inch deck gun and anti-aircraft guns.

In January 1944, the Penelope Barker was torpedoed and sunk in the Barents Sea. Five crew members were killed and five were missing; the rest managed to reach safety at a Russian port.