Welcome Aboard
IIRC (I've never done this) with GWX one of the flotillas sets out for practice before 4 Sept and you can practice on some German vessels and the renown taken for this is compensated for, but because you've fired on either a neutral or friend (in this case) they will shoot back.
A lot of people, even those nearing 100% realism, use the external camera with the excuse of taking screenshots - but I think it's a shame to have all these big explosions and not get a proper view.
