She was built for the Royal Navy as the S-class destroyer HMS Shark but on completion was lent to the Norwegian Armed Forces in exile.

The turbines developed a total of 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph).

Svenner carried a maximum of 615 long tons (625 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 4,675 nautical miles (8,658 km; 5,380 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

Svenner was the only Allied ship to be sunk by German naval activity on the morning of 6 June.

The memorial can be found approximately 100 yards on the sea-side of the coast road at Hermanville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France.