HMSDorsetshire in front of theSydney Harbour Bridge in 1938.
History
United Kingdom
Name	Dorsetshire
Namesake	Dorset
Builder	Portsmouth Dockyard
Laid down	21 September 1927
Launched	29 January 1929
Commissioned	30 September 1930
Motto	"Pro Patria Et Comitatu" (For Country and County)
Fate	Sunk by Japanese air attack, 5 April 1942
General characteristics
Class & type	County-classheavy cruiser
Displacement	Standard: 10,035 long tons (10,196 t) Full load: 13,420 long tons (13,640 t)
Length	632 ft 9 in (192.86 m)
Beam	66 ft (20 m)
Draught	18 ft (5.5 m)
Installed power	8 × boilers 80,000 shp (59,660 kW)
Propulsion	4 × Parsons geared or Brown Curtissteam turbines 4 × screwpropellers
Speed	31.5knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph)
Range	12,000 nmi (22,000 km; 14,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	653
Armament	8 ×8 in (203 mm) Mk VIII guns 8 ×QF 4 in (102 mm)dual-purpose guns 24 ×2-pounder pom-pomanti-aircraft guns 8 × 21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes
Armour	Side: 1 to 4 in (25 to 102 mm) Turrets: 1 in
Aircraft carried	2 ×Supermarine Walrusfloatplanes (operated by700 Naval Air Squadron)
Aviation facilities	1 ×catapult

HMSDorsetshire (pennant number 40) was aCounty-classheavy cruiser of the BritishRoyal Navy, named after the English county, now usually known asDorset. The ship was a member of theNorfolk sub-class, of whichNorfolk was the only other unit; the County class comprised a further eleven ships in two other sub-classes.Dorsetshire was built at thePortsmouth Dockyard; herkeel was laid in September 1927, she waslaunched in January 1929, and was completed in September 1930.Dorsetshire was armed with amain battery of eight 8 in (203 mm) guns, and had a top speed of 31.5knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph).

Dorsetshire served initially in theAtlantic Fleet in the early 1930s, before moving to become the flagship of theCommander-in-Chief, Africa in 1933, and then to theChina Station in late 1935. She remained there until the outbreak of theSecond World War in September 1939, when she was transferred to the South Atlantic. There, she reinforced the search for the German heavy cruiserAdmiral Graf Spee. In late May 1941,Dorsetshire took part in thefinal engagement with the battleshipBismarck, which ended whenDorsetshire was ordered to close andtorpedo the crippled German battleship. She joined searches for the heavy cruiserAdmiral Hipper in August and theauxiliary cruiserAtlantis in November.

In March 1942,Dorsetshire was transferred to theEastern Fleet to support British forces in the recently openedPacific Theatre of the war. At the end of the month, the Japanese fast carrier task force—theKido Butai—launched theIndian Ocean raid. On 5 April, Japanese aircraft spottedDorsetshire and her sisterCornwall while en route toColombo; a force ofdive bombers then attacked the two ships and sank them. More than 1,100 men were rescued the next day, out of a combined crew of over 1,500.

Dorsetshire was at maximum 632 ft 9 in (192.86 m)long overall, and had abeam of 66 ft (20 m) and adraught of 18 ft (5.5 m). Shedisplaced 9,925–9,975long tons (10,084–10,135 t) at standard displacement, in compliance with the tonnage restriction of theWashington Naval Treaty, and up to 13,425 long tons (13,640 t) atfull load.Dorsetshire was propelled by fourParsonssteam turbines that drove four screwpropellers. Steam was provided by eight oil-fired 3-drumwater-tube boilers. The turbines were rated at 80,000 shp (60,000 kW) and produced a top speed of 32.3 knots (59.8 km/h; 37.2 mph). The ship had a capacity of 3,210 t (3,160 long tons; 3,540 short tons) of fuel oil as built, which provided a cruising radius of 12,500nautical miles (23,200 km; 14,400 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). She had a crew of 710 officers and enlisted men.^[1][2]

Dorsetshire was armed with amain battery of eightBL 8 in (203 mm) Mk VIII 50-cal. guns in four twinturrets, in twosuperfiring pairs forward and aft. As built, the cruiser had asecondary battery that included four 4 in (102 mm)dual-purpose guns (DP) in single mounts. She also carried fourQF 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns, also in single mounts. Her armament was rounded out by eight 21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes mounted in two quadruple launchers.^[1]

Unlike most heavy cruisers, the County-class cruisers dispensed with traditionalbelt armour and used 1 in (25 mm) side plating to protect the hulls against shell fragments only. The ammunitionmagazines received 4 in (102 mm) of armour plate on the sides. The gun turrets and their supportingbarbettes also received only 1 in splinter protection.^[1]

In 1931,Dorsetshire began to carry aseaplane; acatapult was installed the following year to allow her to launch the aircraft while underway. In 1937, her secondary battery was overhauled. EightQF 4-inch Mk XVI DP guns in twin turrets replaced the single mounts, and the single 2-pounders were replaced with eight twin-mounts. During theSecond World War, her anti-aircraft battery was strengthened by the addition of nine 20 mm (0.79 in) guns.^[1]

Dorsetshire was laid down at thePortsmouth Dockyard on 21 September 1927 and was launched on 21 January 1929. After completingfitting-out work on 30 September 1930 she was commissioned into the Royal Navy.^[1] Upon commissioning,Dorsetshire became theflagship of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron.^[3] In 1931, she was part of theAtlantic Fleet during theInvergordon Mutiny. During the incident, some of her men initially refused to assemble for duty but after an hour and a half, the ship's officers had restored order and no further unrest troubledDorsetshire during the mutiny.^[4] From 1933–1935, she served as the flagship for theCommander-in-Chief, Africa; she was replaced byAmphion.^[5] By September 1935,Dorsetshire was assigned to theChina Station.^[6] From 1–4 February 1937,Dorsetshire, theaircraft carrierHermes and the cruiserCumberland participated in an exercise to test the defences of Singapore against a hypothetical Japanese attack.^[7]

At the start of the Second World War in September 1939,Dorsetshire was still on the China Station.^[8] In October,Dorsetshire—with other Royal Navy ships—was sent to South American waters in pursuit of the Germanheavy cruiserAdmiral Graf Spee, which was attacking British merchant traffic in the area.Dorsetshire was assigned with hersister shipCornwall and the aircraft carrierEagle.^[9]Dorsetshire had just arrived inSimonstown, South Africa, from Colombo on 9 December, with orders to proceed toTristan da Cunha and then toPort Stanley in theFalkland Islands to relieveExeter. After departing Simonstown, she received the order to join the hunt forAdmiral Graf Spee.^[10] She left South Africa on 13 December in company with the cruiserShropshire and was in transit on 17 December when the GermansscuttledAdmiral Graf Spee following theBattle of the River Plate.^[11]

Exeter had been badly damaged in the battle withAdmiral Graf Spee, andDorsetshire escorted her back to Britain in January 1940, before returning to South American waters to search for German supply ships.^[8] On 11 February, her reconnaissance aircraft spotted the German supply freighterWakama 12 nmi (22 km; 14 mi) off the coast of Brazil, which was promptly scuttled by her crew.^[12]Dorsetshire arrived on the scene shortly thereafter, picked up ten officers and thirty-five crewmen and sankWakama to prevent her from being a navigational hazard.^[13][14] The following month, the President of Panama,Augusto Samuel Boyd, sent a formal complaint to the British government protesting againstDorsetshire's violation of thePan-American Security Zone in theWakama incident.^[15]

In May,Dorsetshire underwent a short refit in Simonstown, before returning to Britain for a more thorough overhaul.^[8] On 23 June, she set out from Freetown to watch the FrenchbattleshipRichelieu, which leftDakar forCasablanca two days later. Whileen route,Dorsetshire rendezvoused with the aircraft carrierHermes off Dakar.Richelieu was ordered to return to Dakar by AdmiralFrançois Darlan later that day and she arrived on 27 June.Dorsetshire continued to monitor the French Navy off Dakar and on 3 July, the FrenchsubmarinesLe Glorieux andLe Héros attempted to intercept her.Dorsetshire was able to evade their attacks through high-speed manoeuvres. On 5 July,Hermes and the Australian cruiserHMAS Australia joined her there. On 7 July, the squadron was ordered to issue an ultimatum to the French fleet, to either surrender and be interned under British control or to scuttle their ships; the French refused, so a fastsloop was sent in to dropdepth charges under the stern ofRichelieu to disable her screws.^[16]

On 4 September, she was dry-docked atDurban and on the 20th she arrived back in Simonstown. She sailed forSierra Leone the next day. Operating in the Indian Ocean, on 18 November she bombarded Zante inItalian Somaliland. On 18 December she departed to join the search for the heavy cruiserAdmiral Scheer, which had recently sunk the British refrigerator shipDuquesa in theSouth Atlantic. The British were unsuccessful in their search andAdmiral Scheer remained at large.^[17]

By May 1941,Dorsetshire had been assigned toForce H, along with the aircraft carrierArk Royal, thebattlecruiserRenown, and thelight cruiserSheffield.Dorsetshire was at that time commanded by Captain Benjamin Martin.^[18] Late in the month, the German battleshipBismarck and heavy cruiserPrinz Eugen broke out into the North Atlantic to attack convoys sailing for Britain, andDorsetshire was one of the ships deployed to hunt the German raiders.Dorsetshire had been escorting convoy SL74 from Sierra Leone to the UK on 26 May, when she received the order to leave the convoy and join the search forBismarck; she was some 360 nmi (670 km; 410 mi) south ofBismarck's location.Dorsetshire steamed at top speed, though heavy seas later in the night forced her to reduce to 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) and later to 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). By 08:33,Dorsetshire encountered thedestroyerCossack, which had been engagingBismarck throughout the night. The German battleship's gun flashes could be seen, only 6 nmi (11 km; 6.9 mi) away, by 08:50.^[19][20]

Shortly thereafter,Dorsetshire took part inBismarck's last battle; after the battleshipsRodney andKing George V neutralisedBismarck's main battery early in the engagement,Dorsetshire and other warships—including her sisterNorfolk—closed in to join the attack.^[1]Dorsetshire opened fire at a range of 20,000 yd (18,000 m), but poor visibility forced her to check her fire for lengthy periods.^[21] In the course of the engagement, she fired 254 shells from her main battery. In the final moments of the battle, she was ordered to move closer and torpedoBismarck and fired three torpedoes, two of which hit the crippled battleship.^[1][22] The Germans had by this time detonated scuttling charges, which with the damage inflicted by the British, causedBismarck to rapidly sink at 10:40.^[23]

Dorsetshire and the destroyerMaori then moved in to pick up survivors. Martin had ropes lowered down the sides of the ship so the men in the water could climb aboard. A reportedU-boat sighting forced the two ships to break off the rescue effort. HistoriansHolger Herwig andDavid Bercuson state that only 110 men were rescued: 85 aboardDorsetshire and 25 aboardMaori.^[24] HistorianAngus Konstam, however, writes that his research indicated a total of 116 saved, 86 onDorsetshire (one of whom died), 25 onMaori, 3 rescued byU-74 and a further 2 picked up by the German weather shipSachsenwald.^[25]

Rodney,King George V and the destroyersSikh,Zulu andCossack had meanwhile begun to steam north-west to return to Scapa Flow. After abandoning the rescue effort,Dorsetshire andMaori caught up with the rest of the fleet shortly after 12:00. Late that night, as the fleet steamed off Britain,Dorsetshire was detached to stop in theTyne. She had suffered no casualties in the battle withBismarck.^[26]

In late August,Dorsetshire participated in the search for the heavy cruiserAdmiral Hipper.Dorsetshire,Eagle and the light cruiserNewcastle left Freetown on 29 August, though they were unable to locate the German raider.^[27] On 4 November,Dorsetshire and theauxiliary cruiserCanton, were sent to investigate reports of a German surface raider in the South Atlantic but neither ship found anything.^[28] In November–December, WS-24, a convoy of 10 troop transport ships, steamed out fromHalifax, Canada en route toBasra, Iraq. After arriving in Cape Town on 9 December,Dorsetshire took over the escort duties and the convoy was diverted to Bombay, where it arrived on 24 December.^[29]

Dorsetshire was deployed in November, to join the search for the German commerce raiderAtlantis, that had been attackingAllied shipping off the coast of Africa. AdmiralAlgernon Willis formed Task Force 3, withDorsetshire andDevonshire to patrol likely refuelling locations forAtlantis.^[30] On 1 December,Dorsetshire intercepted the German supply shipPython, based onUltra intelligence. The German ship was refuelling a pair of U-boats—UA andU-68—in the South Atlantic. The U-boats dived whilePython tried to flee.UA fired five torpedoes atDorsetshire but all missed her due to her evasive manoeuvres.Dorsetshire fired a salvo to stopPython and the latter's crew abandoned the ship, after detonating scuttling charges.Dorsetshire left the Germans in their boats, since the U-boats still presented too much of a threat for the British to pick up the Germans.^[31][32]

In 1942,Dorsetshire, under the command ofAugustus Agar, was assigned to theEastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean. In March,Dorsetshire was assigned to Force A, which was commanded by AdmiralJames Somerville, with the battleshipWarspite and the carriersIndomitable andFormidable. Somerville received reports of an impending Japanese attack in the Indian Ocean—theIndian Ocean raid—and so he put his fleet to sea on 31 March. Having not encountered any hostile forces by 4 April, he withdrew to refuel.Dorsetshire and her sister shipCornwall were sent to Colombo to replenish their fuel.^[33]

The next day, she andCornwall were spotted by reconnaissance aircraft from the heavy cruiserTone. The two British cruisers were attacked by a force of 53Aichi D3A2 "Val"dive bombers 320 km (200 mi) southwest ofCeylon. In the span of about eight minutes,Dorsetshire was hit by ten 250 lb (110 kg) and 550 lb (250 kg) bombs and several near misses; she sank stern first at about 13:50. One of the bombs detonated an ammunition magazine and contributed to her rapid sinking.Cornwall was hit eight times and sank bow first about ten minutes later. Between the two ships, 1,122 men out of a total of 1,546 were picked up by the cruiserEnterprise and the destroyersPaladin andPanther the next day.^[34][35]

• Baptiste, Fitzroy André (1988).War, Cooperation, and Conflict: The European Possessions in the Caribbean, 1939–1945. ABC-CLIO.ISBN 0313254729.
• Belling, Ron (1989).A Portrait of Military Aviation in South Africa. Cape Town: Struikhof Publishers.ISBN 094745814X.
• Bercuson, David J.; Herwig, Holger H. (2003).The Destruction of the Bismarck. New York: The Overlook Press.ISBN 1-58567-397-8.
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• Friedman, Norman (2010).British Cruisers: Two World Wars and After. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing.ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
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1°54′N77°45′E / 1.900°N 77.750°E /1.900; 77.750

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