HMS Penelope was a Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy. Like other ships of the class, Penelope was named after a figure of mythology. She was launched on 17 August 1962 and commissioned on 31 October 1963. Penelope had originally been intended to be part of the Salisbury class and was to have been named Coventry (and before that Panther), but instead became part of the Leander class.