Just some ideas to support your work here, on the airplane issue. Note these are not play-tested, just some ideas from my earlier World in Flames where I loved the aircraft names on counters but hated the countless hours needed to play the game… Just like in that game, fighters now only shoot at other aircraft. Carrier air still is combined naval bombers/ fighters.
Air combat: if there is a bomber and at least one ftr in a land combat, there is a round of air combat before each land combat round. Naval combat w. carrier air on both sides always includes an air combat round. When there are no fighters on either side, the air combat round is skipped. Fighters are never subject to AA fire. Only bombers are attacked by AA and only after the first air combat round. Bomber hits always hit fighters, may not hit other bombers. Every second (fourth, sixth etc) fighter hit is designated by the attacker. When an air unit is hit in air combat, they may avoid being destroyed by rolling a dogfight roll. This is equal to the air combat value for bombers, for fighters it is different for each fighter type. Attackers that win this roll retreat, defenders continue to fight.
Fighters- Standard fighters: 3/4 air only, range 4, cost 8 IPCs. When defending in non-air combat rounds, ftrs do not participate until they are the last units remaining when they may be taken as losses. If only ftrs are remaining after a non-air combat round, they may retreat to any adjacent land area that was not attacked this turn (SBR doesn’t count). If no such area exists, they are destroyed.
Carrier air- fighters bound to the carrier, but can be killed in the air combat round or be killed in the naval combat separately from the carrier. When bought they are placed directly on carrier next to a friendly land area. Fighters mat be converted to carrier air for 4 IPCs, or vice versa. Have 3/4 in both air and naval combat, cost 10 IPCs. Also 2/2 land bombing on islands only (note UK and Japan are not single-sea zone islands), they are too small aircraft to influence a major land campaign.
Bombers/special fighters- here I think you could use the different pieces in Revised and 2nd A&A, w. these air units for each nation:
Germany:
AA2nded fighter- standard fighter (Messerschmitt Bf-109). Dogfight: 2/3.
AAR fighter- Junkers 87 Dive bomber, 4/2, range 4, cost 10 IPCs, 1 in Air combat, no SBR.
AAR bomber- Junkers 88 Medium bomber, 4/3, range 6, cost 12 IPCs, 2 in Air combat, half SBR. May be used as night fighter: then 3/4 in air combat.
AA2nded bomber- standard bomber.
Soviet Union:
AAR fighter- standard fighter. Dogfight: 2/2.
AA2nded fighter- Sturmovik IL-2 bomber, 3/4, range 4, cost 8 IPCs, 2 in Air combat, no SBR.
AAR bomber- standard bomber.
USA:
AA2nded fighter- standard fighter. Dogfight: 3/3.
AAR fighter- P38 Lightning, 3/4 fighter, range 6, cost 12 IPCs. May not be carrier ftr. Dogfight: 4/3 (also represents P-51 Mustangs).
AA2nded bomber- B-25 Mitchell medium bomber, 4/3, range 6, cost 15 IPCs, 2 in Air combat, half SBR.
AAR bomber- B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber, 4/2, range 6, cost 18 IPCs, 2 in Air combat, SBR +1.
UK:
AAR fighter- standard fighter (Spitfire). Dogfight: 3/3.
AA2nded bomber- Mosquito light bomber, 3/4, range 6, cost 12 IPCs, 2 in Air combat, half SBR. May be used as night fighter: has 3/4 night ftr.
AAR bomber, Lancaster heavy bomber, 4/1, range 6, cost 15 IPCS, 1 in Air combat, SBR +1. No naval bombing.
Japan:
AA2nded fighter- standard fighter. Dogfight: 2/2.
AAR fighter, Mitsubishi A6 “Zero”, 3/4 fighter, 4/3 naval bomber (no land bombing, exc. if carrier ftr, islands at 2/2), cost 12 IPCs, costs only 2 IPCs to convert b/w ftr and carrier ftr. Dogfight: 3/2.
AAR bomber, standard bomber.
Standard bomber: 4/2, range 6, 1 in Air combat, 15 IPCs, one die of IPC damage. Bombers can fly night bombing: reduce SBR damage by one, all air units fire on one less (except Ju88/Mosquitos used as night ftrs). Lend-lease restriction: UK and US may only send ordinary ftrs to base in Russian home areas due to Soviet lack of training for advanced aircraft. Jet fighters: 4/5 air only, 12 IPCs, need tech. Dogfight: 4/4.
Starting forces: Each ftr unit on land, replace w. 1 standard ftr and 1 bomber, the latter Ju87s, Sturmoviks, Mitchells, Mosquitos. UK and US bmrs at start: Lancaster and Flying Fortress. Exception: Germany replace one Ju87 w. a Ju88, US replace 1 ftr w. a Lightning. Japan: one of carrier ftr and the ftr in Japan are Zeros, but only 1 bmr at start in Japan.
Strategic bombing: IPC damage capped at half cash at hand. AA hits are aborts, roll an extra die, only on a 1-2 is bomber killed, only killed on a second ‘1’ if bomber has Air combat: 2. Note you must fight one air combat round if intercepted, before AA fire. Escorting fighters are designated before interceptions but are not subject to AA fire.
Defensive use of air units: you may reinforce air units to adjacent land or sea areas under attack, if these air units are not defending against another attack (including SBR). They take part in the first round of air combat and the first round of land or naval combat with one less in defense value. After that they are returned to their area of origin. This gives the defender a much needed advantage since the attacker can draw air units from his entire front. It also gives island bases in the pacific a greater historical use as air bases. Note that Pearl Harbor and the British and German Home fleets now become much, much harder to attack!
/Lynxes, swedish gamer, now waiting to play “Europe Engulfed”