Dorsetshire was a British County-class heavy cruiser, pennant 40, a later ship than Cornwall. Portsmouth Dockyard launched her on 29 January 1929 and she was commissioned on 30 September 1930.
Augustus Agar, who held the Victoria Cross, became her captain on 18 August 1941. In April 1942 she was with the Eastern Fleet and still had engine-room defects from a refit that had been cut short.
On 4 April she sailed from Colombo with Cornwall. The next morning a floatplane from Tone found the two cruisers southwest of Ceylon. Dive bombers from Soryu and Hiryu came down on them. Dorsetshire was hit and sank by the stern. Two hundred thirty-four of her crew were killed. Agar survived. Cornwall sank in the same attack. The two ships lost 424 men. The bombs are not credited to one Japanese ship.
Survivors were taken up the next day by the cruiser Enterprise and the destroyers Paladin and Panther.