Actually John, that is completely true. So long as the ship is in visual range and the periscope is up, it will show (in stock game) as a silhouette with a velocity vector. Those of us who believe that is excessive information are running Trigger Maru (and soon maybe RFB too!) which dispense with this hand holding.
I recommend if you are learning manual targeting, use the stock game's silhouettes and velocity vectors to become provicient before you attempt to tackle Trigger Maru. The stock game even shows the effect of the spread knob so you can aim your shots that way. All that vanishes with Trigger Maru and you are left with position marks only: dots.
