Do the vessel really sink ?
They certainly do! The vessels are skinned in thin balsa, when that balsa in penetrated they start to take on water. When the inflow of water is greater than the pump can handle, the ship will start to settle and eventually sink if not returned to port promptly. In most battles at least one vessel will sink as the vessel floods too fast to get home, stays at sea too long or suffers some sort of systems failure which prevents it from returning to port.
