Suffolk’s radar shadow of Bismarck

Suffolk joined the Denmark Strait action, exchanged several salvos with Bismarck, and used radar to maintain contact with the German battleship. That contact allowed other British units to move into Bismarck’s path while Suffolk stayed outside a straightforward gunnery duel. The cruiser eventually broke off because she was running short of fuel and had to make for Reykjavik. A paper comparison of guns and armour cannot explain why Bismarck could not simply eliminate a smaller, alert, mobile opponent. Here the County’s job was to survive, observe a stronger enemy, and turn information into an operational advantage.