Situation: 4 US carriers with 2 fighters each, defending in a sea zone against an attacking Japanese force (composition uninportant), with no US territories or islands adjacent.
Round one, the US side suffers, lets say, 3 hits.
Is it legal to take one hit each against three of the 4 US carriers, even though this means that should the US side suffer no additional hits for the rest of the battle, 3 of the 4 carriers will not be able to land their fighters?
The point is, when you move aircraft, you have to move in such a way as to always have a “legal landing solution”. Do you have to maintain this “legal landing solution” during combat? Can you take hits in such a manner as to make a safe landing unfeasable? (like when you are facing an overwhelming opponent and you want you inflict the most possible damage)
I hope this makes sense! :-)