If altitude does not have any use then why is there so much discussion about it???

[Tanaka]

From the manual: PAGE 83

"Other than impacting P39 and P400 performance, altitude does not impact air to air combat."

So does anyone know if altitude is really important in this game or is it just for show???

Only things I can think of are that I have seen in the manual:

Lower altitude-Better spotting and stronger bombing damage.

Anyone know of anything else???

Does altitude affect fatigue at all? I could not find this in the manual.

[Mike_B20]

Altitude does affect combat results...that quote from the manual seems misleading. Perhaps the author meant that when fighters actually meet at a given altitude the only bearing altitude has on the engagement is a check for performance at that altitude.
Airocobras being notorious for a lack of performance at greater than 10000 feet.

Fighters are usually at a disadvantage if they encounter enemy fighters at higher altitude. The higher aircraft seeming to get the 'bounce' on the lower aircraft as they struggle to gain height (although I've seen puzzling examples where the lower aircraft bounces the higher ).

Also, the altitude of patrolling CAP is crucial when it comes to intercepting enemy bombers. For example, fighters on CAP at 10000 feet will often fail to intercept incoming bombers at 5000 feet or less.

All-in-all, I think setting altitude for bombers, escorts and CAP is one of the more important decisions to be made in UV.
I always strive to have my bombers above effective AA range and hopefully also above any intercepting fighters (the fighters waste important fighting time in climbing to intercept), but not so high as to lose bombing accuracy.
Also, I try and have fighters escorting a few thousand feet above expected opposition but not out of touch with any bombers they may be escorting.

[Fred98]

My understanding-:

If altitude is lower then bombing has greater effect

If the altitude is lower, then flak has greater affect.

If the fighter CAP is higher than the incoming enemy fighters, the CAP has an advantage as they can bounce the enemy

If fighters have to climb to intercept bombers they are less successful than if they dive to intercept bombers.

If any aircraft regularly fly at their maximum ceiling, the Operational damage/losses will be higher compared to flying at a mid altitude.

For ASW, the correct altitude is around 1,000 – 2,000 feet
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[Tanaka]

My understanding-:

If altitude is lower then bombing has greater effect

If the altitude is lower, then flak has greater affect.

If the fighter CAP is higher than the incoming enemy fighters, the CAP has an advantage as they can bounce the enemy

If fighters have to climb to intercept bombers they are less successful than if they dive to intercept bombers.

If any aircraft regularly fly at their maximum ceiling, the Operational damage/losses will be higher compared to flying at a mid altitude.

For ASW, the correct altitude is around 1,000 – 2,000 feet
-

Maximum ceiling always meaning 20,000 ft since this is the highest you can go with any aircraft in the game?