[CaptainMattJ.]

well theres no fuel bunker, but maybe they hit a tank of compressed gas or something.

and yes they have damage models. however if they go so far as to make it that you shoot one exact spot and its finished i dont think so. they definetely have damage models for bulkheads. if you didnt know or havent seen titanic, bulkheads keep the water contained in an area. if you manage to HIT a bulkheads or ht multiple torpedoes in different areas she gonna sink. its different for every ship, but basically pretty much every merchant ship will eventually go down with two torpedoes (but some that wont), however theres PLENTY of merchants who will not go down with 1. and instead of wasting TWO on her, we surface and fire the deckgun.

now the deckgun can be used with great accuracy. usually the best spots to hit are the bow,bridge,and stern. and maybe the waterline for flooding damage. and frankly, i dont think ubisoft went as far as to make different cargo on each ship, and have it be a different result with the deckgun, but definetely models are there so that if you hit a certain thing a certain result will happen.

and i know at least one thing, that if you aim for their radio room they cant radio you in. it even says so on the loading screen, so theres definetely damage models.