I have 2nd edition, which is what Krieghund quoted. I looked up the rule, and there is more than one place that clearly states casualties from battleship bombardment get to fire back.
In the addendum that came with it, it says that the battleship can’t be fired back on. This might be the source of some of the confusion. But it just means the battleship can’t get hit by the return fire.
Dizz, there were in fact multiple versions, along with clarifications and addendums, to the “original” game. But I don’t know if your recollector is working properly or not.
2nd edition, BB casualties got to fire back as normal.