Air Strengths

[Bdr.Mallette]

hello,

quick query about air units.

If I conduct combat missions, more than 2 or 3, I have noticed that the loss of either force's air power does not decrease.
No more aircraft seem to get shotdown.
I am assuming it is probably because the air unit has no movement points left. If the aircraft were placed closer to the 'action', is it a correct assumption that they will be able to participate in more support Ops for attacking ground unit.

In a scenario I am playing right now, I have gained the edge on Air superiority but at the same time I am conducting 6 or 7 combat rounds per turn and my air power is not participating in the last few combat rounds where I really need them, after my ground forces have punished the enemy enough to move them back.
If I were to rest some of my air units, i may lose the edge on superiority as well as being less effective on the ground.


Any suggestions on how to better utilize my Air units?

[Kraut]

don't set them on CS, directly assign them to a specific attack. TOAW has the habit to assign all available CS units to the first attack and than all following attack have no more CS support.

Only set them to CS at the very end of your turn so that they can react to enemy counterattacks.

[Bdr.Mallette]

I shall try this.

thx

[Polynike]

good tip kraut cheers

[Moriturus]

don't set them on CS, directly assign them to a specific attack. TOAW has the habit to assign all available CS units to the first attack and than all following attack have no more CS support.

Only set them to CS at the very end of your turn so that they can react to enemy counterattacks.
Can I set fighters on CS to accompany bombing attacks on airfields in the first part of the turn, rest them for the middle of the turn, and then put them back to CS at the end of the turn? Or do the fighters just end up doing basically the same thing?

[Kraut]

Can I set fighters on CS to accompany bombing attacks on airfields in the first part of the turn, rest them for the middle of the turn, and then put them back to CS at the end of the turn? Or do the fighters just end up doing basically the same thing?

If you want to use your bombers to start airfield attacks and want your fighters to join in, set one bomber unit per airfield on airfield attack and move as many fighter units as possible into range and set them to AS. When your bombers attack your fighters will join the fight (if they pass their communication check).
You can always switch missions during your turn as needed, your fighters can fly AS for the first 30%, CS for the next 40% and than AS again. Only interdiction is only usefull at the very end of your turn because it will only be effective during your opponents turn and it doesnt matter whether your bomber were flying CS for 80% of your turn and were set to I at the very end or whether they stayed at I throughout your turn. So it's best to make the most of this and use your bombers for CS or bridge bombing and only switch to I when you think you won't get any more combat rounds.

[Bdr.Mallette]

I find it best to leave your fighters on AS till you have achieved air superiority by 2-4 points over your opponent. If your combat suffers a bit for the first 5 turns or so, I think it is more than worth it to attain AS. Once you have achieved AS, your units will really enjoy freedom of movement by rail and road. Interdiction does have a little effect during your combat turns, such as a retreating force or even a tactical or local support force that moves into position can be attacked by your aircraft when they move. It doesn't happen that often but it could really be useful when ya need it. However, I haven't used interdiction lately except for on Crete, where the Axis have total air Superiority.
Good points from previous thread.