Penn , Sir , William , 1621-1670 , Knight , Admiral

Penn served under the Commonwealth in the Irish Fleet. He then went to the Mediterranean in the CENTURION and FAIRFAX, 1650 to 1651, before becoming First Captain of the TRIUMPH. During 1652 and 1653 he was Vice-Admiral of the Fleet under General Robert Blake during the First Dutch War. The following year he was appointed General and Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet, in the SWIFTSUR, for the expedition to capture HISPANIOLA, returning home in 1655. During the Second Dutch War, Penn was appointed to the ROYAL CHARLES, the Duke of York's flagship, in a capacity similar to that of 'Captain of the Fleet'. He served at the Navy Board as a Commissioner between 1660 and 1663, influencing the tactical instructions and drawing up the code long-known as the 'Duke of York's Sailing and Fighting Instructions'. See Granville Penn, Memorials of the professional life and times of Sir William Penn. From 1644 to 1670 (London, 1833, 2 vols).