Scharnhorst and Gneisenau face a denser patrol

The November 1939 Rawalpindi encounter provides a setting for testing the effect of a few extra fast cruisers. Rawalpindi could make only about 15 knots and began sending messages as the German ships approached. She fought at close range, and Newcastle's later approach helped induce the German ships to withdraw. A rebuilt 30-knot cruiser stationed closer to the armed merchant patrol could arrive sooner and bring torpedoes into the smoke and confusion. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau would remain overwhelmingly superior in a gun duel, but they could not safely ignore that torpedo threat while British capital ships converged. The outcome remains uncertain because denser patrol coverage might persuade the Germans to break off before attacking.