On 23rd November 1939, H.M.S. Rawalpindi came under attack from the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst. The Scottish-built vessel sank southeast of Iceland.
Royal Navy
On 26th August 1939, the Admiralty requisitioned the P&O Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. ship Rawalpindi. By 19th September 1939, full conversion to an Armed Merchant Cruiser had taken place. Through October and November 1939, the vessel served in Northern Patrol under command of Captain Edward Coverley Kennedy.
On 23rd November 1939, H.M.S. Rawalpindi came under attack from German battlecruiser Scharnhorst. Along with its sister ship Gneisenau, the Kriegsmarine vessel was on patrol in the Iceland-Faroe passage. The shelling of H.M.S. Rawalpindi caused the Harland and Wolff Ltd. (Greenock, Scotland) vessel to sink causing the deaths of 275 crew members on board.