What I find when I'm trapped near the surface trying to escape an escort is to head away from him at flank speed, then keep adjusting my course to match his such that he's dead astern w/ an AOB of 000. I then fire my stern tube at <1000m w/ a magnetic pistol set to explode 2m under the keel and keep on that course until I either hit, or the torpedo passes. The escort usually will not react in time if it's a steam-driven torpedo, and with magnetic pistols sometimes "close enough" will set it off if it doesn't pass directly under him. I'd say 2 out of 3 times I've taken out a pursuing escort this way.
I've found that trying to fight anything other than a Flower corvette on the surface is suicide. With the Flower, I aim my deck gun for his forward gun, then once that's destroyed as long as I manuever such that his rear machine gun can't engage me the corvette is "easy pickings".
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