Force H service and the Norwegian campaign

Renown joined the hunt for Admiral Graf Spee but did not arrive before the German raider was scuttled. She did intercept and sink the German merchant ship SS Watussi, a profoundly unequal engagement between 15-inch guns and a virtually unarmed vessel. Remaining in the South Atlantic after Graf Spee's loss kept her available for further commerce-raider work until she returned to the Home Fleet in March 1940. She then became battlecruiser-squadron flagship while Hood entered refit and deployed during the Norwegian campaign. The assignments moved a fast capital ship between trade protection, raider hunting, and fleet command as the war changed. Her mobility mattered even when the opponent was far from symmetrical.