Kenya joined the Home Fleet's search for Bismarck and soon afterward worked with Aurora to sink the German tanker Belchen while it was supporting U-93. She then moved into the early Operation Stonewall effort to intercept blockade runners and the U-boats escorting them through the Bay of Biscay approaches. After escorting Operation Halberd to Malta, Kenya and Sheffield failed to catch Rio Grande but sank Kota Pinang west of Cape Finisterre. These patrols attacked the logistical links between Germany, Japan, and submarines instead of waiting for a fleet engagement. Stationing cruisers off France also revived a blockade logic familiar from the Napoleonic era.
Chapter · 32:10-34:09
HMS Kenya hunts Bismarck and Axis blockade runners
Kenya's early career moves from the Bismarck hunt to tanker interception and Atlantic blockade-runner patrols.