I initially reported this behavior in this section. I just experienced it again this morning when I re-visited the German Pride scenario. I can't link it to any specific action yet. It seems random.
To reproduce, just run the naval academy mission German Pride, build a nice German BB, and just sail around guns blazing. I do believe the error is related to time in the game so I'll be putting together a survivability build next go around and watch the clock, guns blazing.