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I searched the manual for info on the use of staging bases and I felt it was a bit vague - other than it is used as a rendez-vous point for the air groups en route to the target area. Do they refuel (would make sense) and/or pick up ammo according to their loadout? If they only serve as a rendez-vous point I don't see many situations when it would make sense to change the auto setting and perhaps it is thereby an option without very much practical use.

I send my fighters to bases near the front while keeping bombers further to the rear. I then set the staging base to the fighter base which then escorts the bombers.

homer82 wrote: Sat Jun 11, 2022 8:25 pm I send my fighters to bases near the front while keeping bombers further to the rear. I then set the staging base to the fighter base which then escorts the bombers.

I usually have fighters near the front, but more because of range issues. What is the benefit of it from your suggestion - save fuel?

yes basically, all the planes in a mission fly to the staging base and then create the AD so in homer82's model you are basically allocating the bombers to the fighters. There are times when this isn't feasible (clearly depends on the interaction between home bases and desired target) but its good practice - not least it avoids the situation where you think you have a well escorted mission but actually quite a few of your fighters drop off before the actual target

planes will fly to a staging base already with a loadout or they will fly there without anything and then try to get all they need at the staging base?

My view is the core arm/supply routine takes place at the home airbase, I've always had the view that planes don't refuel etc at the staging base (or if they did fighters would be able to radically extend their operational range). I think that transport planes can double-dip in that the freight they deliver can either be at their home base or the staging base.

There's a lot of 'I think' there as this stuff is near impossible to test, in terms of probability:

I'm confident about 'a', 'b' makes sense given that fighters don't suddenly get a longer escort range, 'c' is my working assumption but for safety I cluster transport planes at a pri 4 depot

'b' maybe an instance where the rules from WiTW have not been carried over, it certainly was the case there and fits with Anglo-Allied mission planning doctrines. WiTW even allows you to create the Allied strategy of fighters waiting for the returning bombers, but it never allowed the US doctrine of giving returning escort fighters (after they had left the bombers) free reign in terms of target selection on the route back. Given the different interaction of bases and the active war in #2 there maybe some refueling going on.

In the end only Pavel can confirm and he doesn't engage with the forum any longer. So to be safe, assume the most restrictive interpretation. I spent a lot of time with WiTW testing out the air war as its core to the game, I've always taken a broader view in WiTE2 that essentially what matters most is plane deployment and fit of that to mission (since most of the time its GS you use)

rocketman71 wrote: Mon Jun 13, 2022 10:56 pm I usually have fighters near the front, but more because of range issues. What is the benefit of it from your suggestion - save fuel?

I find the auto assigned staging base doesn't always provide escorts so I assign it myself.