If you ever get that again (and have the time), plug a few more torps into the uncredited one. It will eventually blow sky-high and you will get the credit.

JCC

If you do enuff damage to AC, eventualy you will get credit for sinking even though she's sitting on bottom., assume you were you out of torps ? :arrgh!:

When i go into a harbor i try to destroy all warships first then have my deck gun finish up the Transports.

I do enjoy sending off a stern spread as a nice departing gift :arrgh!:

* If there are no Coastal Guns in the proximity, the DG crew is kept quite busy

B ...

live to fight another day

and you can always return the other day ... well i would

I guess your talkin to me JCC. I had already exhausted my fore tubes, had 'loosed' a volly from the stern on my exit towards the second flat top.

Funny thing is I thought the first boat was toast with the 4 torps I had fired, I fired two at the other and ordered hard to starbord.

I got a stern shot lined up and sent them off at the second target almost as soon as the first 'bow' shots arrived.

I had sent 4 fish at her all told but the first one struck home.

After that it was evasion.

What he said
 

Seems obvious. I'll grant that again you set up the situation incompletely, leaving too much unspecified for a real discussion here. Surface action against destroyers was suicide in R/L with not one success in that. Lots of failures though. With two lurking out there--you do the math! Can't plan on blowing him sky-high with anything as Realistic Sinking Mechanics makes that unlikely. Most tankers don't have cargo, and that is what blows in RSM.

I'd stay at periscope depth on the escape. For some reason this seems to make the destroyers easier to evade. In any event I follow Wahoo (Morton)'s example and retain the initiative by maintaining periscope depth as long as possible. It isn't as if you have any water here anyway....

No risk, no glory! But how much risk can you tolerate? That is the rub. Destroyers on the surface are invincible vs a sub deck gun in RL and it would be playing Quake, not Silent Hunter 4, to do it here.

So that's a no-vote from me, as the responses (in agreement with the setup) are insufficient.

Perhaps not if you're using the Natural Sinking Mechanics. Getting a HitPoints kill on a ship might take 100 torpedos, who knows.

i selected "A) Find a deep 'divet' in the harbor and wait till your fish are ready".
But have to add this:
I would "hide" within a few miles from the harbour and wait(on the risk of beeing pinged and have to react on the DD)at least 24 hours,see what happens and
a)in case the merchant sinks:attack the DD
b)in case he doesn't sink:devide my next salvo between DD and merchant.