Impenetrable air formations?

[GottaLove88s]

Guys, Am playing Erik's Coral Sea MP scenario (brilliant map!)

My opponent has setup a strong air defence and is bombing my Jap infantry as they slowly schlep towards Port Moresby.

I've got a Zero fighter selected (circled in white, top left) and I want to attack the weak (1 strength point) P40 Warhawk, marked by the 75.RAAF label, where I've got my cursor. The OOB game engine won't let me attack the P40 directly, and it won't let me move into the empty airspace immediately NE of the P40.

Are defensive air formations supposed to be impenetrable? Or is there a way to crack them?

[adherbal]

You can only move through enemy air units if you are adjacent to them. But even if it was possible to get there, going for that 1 hp aircraft would guarantee the destruction of your 6 strength Zero in the next turn!

[GottaLove88s]

Thanks for the explanation, Adherbal.

You can only move through enemy air units if you are adjacent to them.

So just to be sure that I understand what's happening here, if I move my fighter into a hex immediately adjacent to the enemy fighters/bombers, and then wait one turn, I can fly through the defending air units, if they stay in the same place?

But even if it was possible to get there, going for that 1 hp aircraft would guarantee the destruction of your 6 strength Zero in the next turn!

The way OOB's air mechanics work, each successive attack is weaker than the previous, so it would take (at least) all three of the enemy fighters to attack my Zero to actually kill it (which would draw off enemy fire that could otherwise attack my ground troops approaching the primary objective). Not a bad result for exchanging one P40 for one Zero...