If, after the "Denmark Strait Battle," Saville had made the correct judgment that the "Prime Minister" had separated from two large cruisers and was heading to the South Sunset Ocean with two oil tankers and two destroyers, the Bulan Royal Navy still would have had the opportunity to sink it in the North Sunset Ocean.
The reason is simple, the "Prime Minister" couldn't sustain speeds over 25 knots indefinitely.
Even if it had sufficient fuel, its boilers and steam turbines couldn't handle it.
Of course, the key issue was still the lack of fuel.
At a speed of 19 knots, the "Prime Minister"'s range exceeded 8000 nautical miles, but at 25 knots, it couldn't even cover 3500 nautical miles, and at 29 knots, it could only manage 2500. It was evident that the fuel carried by the two fast oil tankers was far from sufficient.
Moreover, refueling required a reduction in speed.
