Firing a capital ship's main battery at a small, manoeuvring destroyer is inefficient because the chance of a long-range hit is low. The choice also implies confidence that larger threats have already been addressed and that heavy ammunition can be spared. An oversized armor-piercing shell may pass through a lightly built hull without detonating as intended. Its kinetic energy can still punch large entry and exit holes, admit flooding, and wrench apart the destroyer's structure.
Notable Point · 1:48:23-1:49:41
What heavy shells can do to destroyers
Even when a battleship's heavy shells are hard to land on a distant destroyer, a penetrating hit can inflict destructive flooding and structural damage.