Naval air strikes can't find target

[ndworl]

Once the bomber groups have reached the vicinity, they break into segments of 4 or 9, depending on altitude, and look for targets. Some find a target and some don't. Is there anything the player can do to improve the chances of them actually finding one, or is it just random chance around some key variables which you can't change? My observations are that later strikes tend to have less chance, which I could imagine if there was a lot of smoke about. Weather would play a part for all strikes, so I can imagine if it were poor weather you would get a lower proportion of succesful strikes.

[tocaff]

Sounds like you have it figured out. It's the roll of the dice. It's a big ocean with moving targets so even when you know where they are it's more like were.

[ndworl]

Yeah, that's what I thought. It's just annoying to watch a big strike launch then see a long stream of "did not find target" reports.

[BPRE]

Hi,

In my experience you have in fact already sunk that ship when you see that during the actual attack. The annoying thing is that pilots try to sink ships that are already gone when there are others all around.
Although it's a big ocean this part of the strike didn't actually miss the enemy but concentrated on a ship that was beneath the surface
I would imagine that they should be able to see some other ship to attack in that case.
A guess would be that when the strike reaches the TF the program allocates all aircraft to different ships and if one is sunk they don't switch targets.

/BPRE

[ndworl]

That would make sense. I have seen air combats continue long after the last enemy plane was destroyed, which would suggest the same principle was at work.

[tocaff]

That's not always the case of the intended target(s) being sunk. Sometimes they aren't seen due to smoke or just a plain lousy die roll.

[ndworl]

Probably both, but then that's answered my question. Is there anything the player can do? Answer, nope.
Thanks guys.

[engineer]

Several things:

1) Range:  Yeah, Betty's and B-17's have enormous range, but they almost never engage naval strikes at anywhere close to max.  Close is good and this is why carrier TF's will close on other carrier TF's as a piece of hard-code.

2) My impression is that more sightings on the target TF will improve the chance that the strikes will hit home.  There is method to the tactic of using some dive bombers on Naval Search in addition to your cruiser and battleship embarked float planes.

3) Weather:  Yup!  I once saw a game where weather socked in the Kido Butai on December 7th but let the planes on Oahu operate (as best they could). 

4) Pilot Experience:  This is an impression but I get the feeling that poor experience plays into the die rolls so experienced squadrons are less likely to have navigation errors.  This doesn't help the Allies much at the start of the game except to make the importance of attacking something - anything - that they can grapple with and survive an important part of catching up with the Japanese experience levels.

5) Commander Skill:  I think Air Skill influences this so sketchy initial Allied commanders can lead to missed opportunities.