Screens buy time in an unfavourable fight

The difference between game losses and real deaths matters here: in a digital campaign, it can be rational to accept the loss of ships if that damages an enemy more severely. The battle is shaped by a battleship's extensive 6-inch battery, the vulnerability of destroyers, fire damage, and a decision to concentrate on the most important target. The damaged British ships try to disengage while continuing to suppress the enemy capital ship, making survival and target priority competing demands. Screens are valuable, though calling them expendable only makes sense within the campaign's artificial calculation.