What increases interception probability?

[xhoel]

Hello all,
I was wondering if any of you can fill me in on what exactly increases the chance of a bomber formation being intercepted? Does running recon on the enemy air fields help? Does it help if the bombers fly over an airbase that has men in it (ie TOE is >1) or should the airbase also have aircraft in it as well? I would really appreciate any feedback.
Cheers,
Xhoel

[loki100]

I'd say none of those.

In part it depends on how you are defending against the bombers.

If you use an Air Superiority AD then one important variable is the height you set this at. Given that its not to mid-44 that the Germans get fighters that are happy over 21,000' then one risk is you pick a good height for you and the bombers simply fly higher. If the difference between mission height and interception height is too much then no contact occurs.

A careful allied player will alter their heights. Whereas 22-25,000' is the ideal bombing height for accuracy you can go higher and reduce combat losses - handy if you suspect your opponent has really concentrated their fighters say around the U-boats at Hamburg etc.

The alternative is to simply base your fighters with no AD. They will then auto-intercept and match off at the right height.

The problem with this one is they may choose to chase after recon planes (this happens to me quite a lot) or intercept in smaller numbers (which tends to result in trading losses rather than a big win).

Basically detecting bombers is relatively easy, they make a lot of noise and the Germans had good defensive radar. Actually getting fighters to the right spot was more tricky, so actual interception is less sure.

[xhoel]

Hey Loki,
Thanks once again for your insight, I have an idea that that had nothing to do with it but I figured I'd ask. I never run AS in Northern Europe, i find that the auto interception does a good enough job on its own. As you said however sometimes the LW will shoot itself in the foot, either sending fighters to intercept recon planes or sending very few fighters to intercept fortress formations of bombers.

Thanks again,
Xhoel