How nuclear anti-ship weapons damage a task group

How effective would nuclear weapons be when used as anti-ship missiles?

They are devastating on or near a target, but burst depth, exact distance, and the wide spacing of real task groups limit how many ships one warhead can disable.

A direct nuclear hit on a warship is plainly catastrophic, while a nearby detonation can affect a wider area. An underwater burst creates an expansion and contraction of water that can leave parts of a hull unsupported and break a ship's back. That mechanism is highly sensitive to range and burst position, so an ill-timed detonation may be less effective than the headline yield suggests. Real task groups also sail far more widely dispersed than film formations, reducing the chance that one weapon catches many ships inside the most destructive zone.