I"In early April 1942, Cornwall and her sister ship HMS Dorsetshire were detached from the fleet to escort the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes to Trincomalee on Ceylon for repairs. On 4 April, the Japanese carrier fleet was spotted, and the two cruisers left the harbour, and after a hurried refuelling at sea, set out for Addu Atoll shortly after midnight. On 5 April 1942, the two cruisers were sighted by a spotter plane from the Japanese cruiser Tone about 200 miles (370 km) southwest of Ceylon."
"As part of the engagement known as the Easter Sunday Raid, a wave of dive bombers led by Lieutenant Commander Egusa took off from Japanese carriers to attack the Cornwall and Dorsetshire, 320 km (170 nmi; 200 mi) southwest of Ceylon, and sank the two ships. British losses were 424 men killed; 1,120 survivors spent hours in the water."
Source: Wikipedia
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