convoy to South Africa with a stop en route at Freetown, Sierra Leone. Based at Freetown, Dorsetshire worked with the cruisers and later and . For a while they were joined by the aircraft carrier . Their task was to protect Allied commerce in the South Atlantic from German surface raiders and submarines. Particular targets of the British cruisers were the supply ships which replenished German submarines and surface raiders. Without them the submarines would have to withdraw. The Devonshire sank the German commerce raider on 22 November 1941. On 1 December 1941 Dorsetshire came upon the German supply ship Python, which immediately attempted to flee. Since the area was one where merchant ships seldom ventured, Agar fired two salvos at the ship, one before and one behind as a warning to stand to. At this the Python scuttled herself. Dorsetshire did not stop to pick up survivors as she knew that submarines were likely to be near. One of the German U-boats heading to the Python to be refuelled spotted HMS Dunedin and sank her. Only four officers and 63 men survived out of Dunedin's crew of 486 officers and men. Japanese in the Indian Ocean Dorsetshire was berthed at the naval base at Simon's Town, South Africa, on 7 December 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and, soon after, British positions at Hong Kong, Shanghai and Malaya. She was immediately assigned to escort a convoy of British troops just arriving from Halifax in American transports, originally destined for the Middle East, but now diverted to Singapore. She guided them to Bombay and then returned to Durban to escort another convoy to Aden and Bombay. This was essential duty as these convoys were now vulnerable to attack by both German and Japanese raiders, passing by the less than friendly Vichy French island of Madagascar. Dorsetshire then was assigned to escort a convoy to withdraw as many civilians from Singapore as possible before the island was overrun by the Japanese. She got them safely to Colombo, Ceylon. Agar then was assigned a mission to transport and land a party of 100 Royal Marines in Burma to harass invading Japanese forces, giving the main forces time to evacuate Rangoon. Dorsetshire then escorted the last convoy to get out of Rangoon before it fell on 8 March 1942. Dorsetshire was not equipped to operate in an area with enemy aircraft and