The boat badge of HMS 'Dorsetshire' 1929. Official design, approved in 1927. The pentagonal shape with a gold rope twist border represents a cruiser. The design depicts a lion passant gold on a red field and is based on the county seal. 'DORSETSHIRE' is inscribed on the reverse. The badge is made of cast brass, painted and drilled at the corners. HMS 'Dorsetshire' was a heavy cruiser launched at Portsmouth in 1929. One of the ships which engaged 'Bismarck' in May 1941, Dorsetshire fired the torpedo which sunk her opponent. She was later sunk by Japanese dive bombers in the Indian Ocean on 5 April 1942.