Interceptors?

[Capt Cliff]

Should there be an intercept button for interceptors, like bomb airfield etc., so they can defend the areas in range from air attack?

[sillyflower]

fighters intercept automatically up to x2 per turn if they are in air combat mode, and provided that they are in a good enough state to. I think that means 50%+ strength and ? readiness is high enough

[OxfordGuy3]

How does this work for aircraft carriers?

[AlvaroSousa]

CVs only fly missions. CV air components are basically bombers

[Cigar King]

ORIGINAL: AlvaroSousa

CVs only fly missions. CV air components are basically bombers

Why? How do you explain the turkey shoot?

[OxfordGuy3]

ORIGINAL: AlvaroSousa

CVs only fly missions. CV air components are basically bombers

What about if fleets containing CVs are attacked by bombers (or another CV even)? Presumably they have a defending CAP?

[sillyflower]

ORIGINAL: Cigar King

ORIGINAL: AlvaroSousa

CVs only fly missions. CV air components are basically bombers

Why? How do you explain the turkey shoot?

Excellent question, as ever, given the importance of carriers to protect the fleet from bombers. See also Admiral Cunningham's (commander of UK and allied naval forces in the Med for much of the war autobiography, the title of which I will try to find tomorrow. V. well worth a read.

[Cigar King]

Exactly. Formosa also comes to mind. Halsey had nothing but his own fighters to defend himself from the Japanese land based planes. I don't think he lost any ships...at least not any major ones and wiped out a significant portion of Japanese air strength right before the invasion of the Philippians.

[Ormand]

I suspect that the men of Torpedo-8 (VT-8), Torpedo-6 (VT-6), and Torpedo-3 (VT-3) would beg to differ that a CAG does not have an effective CAP. But, they also showed that a large force, even if it is not terribly coordinated, can wear down the CAP and produce spectacular results. Added to the AA, the CAP takes a toll, and can make a CV nonoperational while the air wing is reconstituted.

[Cigar King]

I'd suggest that carrier tactics also changed. (not to mention the actual planes) At Midway, something less than a third of the planes on carriers were fighters. Later in the war, most, and often 75% or more were.

Besides, the Japanese fighters were able to easily deal with the threat from Midway.

[AlvaroSousa]

Fleets still defend themselves with air combat value AND anti-air.

[sillyflower]

ORIGINAL: sillyflower

ORIGINAL: Cigar King

ORIGINAL: AlvaroSousa

CVs only fly missions. CV air components are basically bombers

Why? How do you explain the turkey shoot?

Excellent question, as ever, given the importance of carriers to protect the fleet from bombers. See also Admiral Cunningham's (commander of UK and allied naval forces in the Med for much of the war autobiography, the title of which I will try to find tomorrow. V. well worth a read.

The book name is 'a sailor's odessey'

[Capt Cliff]

ORIGINAL: sillyflower

fighters intercept automatically up to x2 per turn if they are in air combat mode, and provided that they are in a good enough state to. I think that means 50%+ strength and ? readiness is high enough

So how can I tell they are in air combat mode. I only see 4 boxes, ground, ship, airfield and strategic.

[OxfordGuy3]

ORIGINAL: Capt Cliff

ORIGINAL: sillyflower

fighters intercept automatically up to x2 per turn if they are in air combat mode, and provided that they are in a good enough state to. I think that means 50%+ strength and ? readiness is high enough

So how can I tell they are in air combat mode. I only see 4 boxes, ground, ship, airfield and strategic.

On the counter itself, a triangle will show if they're in support mode (so will intercept on your opponent's turn, if they have enough effectiveness). On the unit's info panel the icon top left toggles between Support mode and Mission-only mode. I think by default at the start of the game all Fighters are in Support mode and all Bombers in Mission-only mod. There isn't a separate "air combat mode", unless I've missed something?

[squatter]

ORIGINAL: Capt Cliff

ORIGINAL: sillyflower

fighters intercept automatically up to x2 per turn if they are in air combat mode, and provided that they are in a good enough state to. I think that means 50%+ strength and ? readiness is high enough

So how can I tell they are in air combat mode. I only see 4 boxes, ground, ship, airfield and strategic.

The four buttons you're referring to determine an aircraft's mode for its ground attack role (fighters can also ground attack), which means essentially they determine which targets you can manually attack during your turn.

Intercept is not affected by these buttons. As Oxford says, intercept is 'on' when the fighter is in Full Support mode (button at top left).

[OxfordGuy3]

If fighters can't intercept (e.g. due to reduced effectiveness the triangle changed colour (can't remember to what, without firing up the game)

[AlvaroSousa]

I added some flavor text to CV combat in the next patch BTW. You will see A2A and AA fire