"Dorsetshire" served initially in the Atlantic Fleet in the early 1930s, before moving to become the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Africa in 1933, and then to the China Station in late 1935. She remained there until the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, when she was transferred to the South Atlantic. There, she reinforced the search for the German heavy cruiser . In late May 1941, "Dorsetshire" took part in the final engagement with the battleship "Bismarck", which ended when "Dorsetshire" was ordered to close and torpedo the crippled German battleship. She joined searches for the heavy cruiser in August and the auxiliary cruiser in November.