Japanese CAP Fiasco - Help Wanted

[The Duke]

I'm in a PBEM, PDU-on, in May '44.....I have a size 6 airbase in the southern Phillipines that has the following:

- approx. 320 fighters (most pilots 70s/80s exp)
- over 400 aviation support
- base force w/ radar
- plenty of supply
- aviation HQ
- all fighter groups set on 70 or 80% CAP
- minimal fighting over this base

Then, my opponent comes in with about 80 P-38s and around 350 B-24s....and only about 100 of my fighters are there to meet them!!!!! [:@]

With the situation I was in, I would have expected between 200-240 fighters to be ready to meet the attack, and instead I get less than half, barely a third of what I'd expect with my CAP settings. What in the world is going on?

This is exactly what happened in mid '43 in the Admiralties as well....on that occasion only about a third of my expected CAP showed up.

So, instead of having a chance to shred the 4-engine raid, I shoot down about 120 of his planes and then lose about 400 on the ground!!! Airfield demolished, and of course all my planes in the air don't divert to nearby base hexes, they simply land back at the smashed base and are destroyed as well.

Does't make any sense at all....that situation (in terms of support, supply, HQ, etc) will never get better for me at this stage of the game. Any idea why I can't even sniff getting remotely close to my CAP %?

[:@]

[Charbroiled]

Size 6 airfield x 50 = max of 300 planes at airfield....if more than 300 planes at airfield, then penalties kick in....(i.e. planes not launching....planes not carrying max load....etc.).

[Terminus]

And he might not strictly speaking have radar, if it's a stock PBEM...

[michaelm75au]

The conditions on how many can fly from a group is similiar to those of any other formed mission:
1. Air HQ and leader check
2. Night morale and experience check
3. Morale check
4. Air supply check
5. Overloaded airfield check
Each failure will lower the number of planes able to fly.

[wild_Willie2]

I once noticed that the type 13 radar is simply not functional. Even worse, the type ? sound detector that it replaces is MORE effective than the type 13. They do not even work TOGETHER, once a type 13 is at a base, the sound detector at that base is not usable anymore