SS Penelope Barker (MC contract 868) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Penelope Barker, American Revolution activist and organizer of the Edenton Tea Party boycott in 1774.

History
United States
Name	Penelope Barker
Namesake	Penelope Barker
Builder	North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, Wilmington, North Carolina
Yard number	46
Way number	1
Laid down	28 October 1942
Launched	1 December 1942
Fate	Sunk January 1944
General characteristics
Type	Liberty ship
Tonnage	7,000 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Length	441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam	56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft	27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
Propulsion	Two oil-fired boilers Triple expansion steam engine Single screw 2,500 hp (1,864 kW)
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Capacity	9,140 tons cargo
Complement	41
Armament	1 × Stern-mounted 4 in (100 mm) deck gun AA guns

The ship was laid down by North Carolina Shipbuilding Company in their Cape Fear River yard on October 28, 1942, then launched on December 1, 1942.^[1]Penelope Baker was operated by the North Atlantic & Gulf Steamship Company for the War Shipping Administration when she was struck by two torpedoes and sunk in the Barents Sea. Five men were killed and five men missing, the rest making it safely to a Russian port.^[2]