Iowa's condition suggests that a real captain would leave the engagement rather than wait to be sunk. The same logic applies to the British commander: after serious damage on both sides, disengagement would be plausible because neither government wants the encounter to become a war. The squadrons are trying to deter passage or secure it, not annihilate the opposing battle line. The AI keeps fighting after the political and operational reasons to stop may already have arrived, which limits what the result can show.
Notable Point · 31:18-33:22
A prewar naval crisis need not become a fight to annihilation
The AI continues the slugging match, but real commanders in this convoy crisis might withdraw damaged ships or break off before the encounter becomes a war.