A major tip for Engines on big ships. Always place them internally or have layers of armor next to it. You don't have to worry about this with small ships, as they have plenty of speed to make up for it. I will show 2 example behemoth ships, so you can see the problems.
This ship (while having internal thrust), has it's major turning thrusters and forward thrusters on the outside. While they may have amour near them and a shield, it won't stop a barrage of cannons coming towards them.
This ship however, has all of it's thrust internal and surrounded by armor. It would take the same barrage 30 minutes to get through compared to the other's 5.
