Air to Air Combat during Strategic Combat

[Yoper]

Can you clarify what happen in this situation:

A fighter is going to make a strategic warfare attack on a Production Center.  The defender responds with a fighter to the attack.

There is an air to air combat round before the strategic attack can be attempted.

Is the attacking fighter locked into being a "bomber" because that is what he stated originally? 

Is he forced to stay with that decision even after he finds out that the defender is going to respond to the attack? 

Or is the attacker allowed to place the fighter into the air to air row on the air combat chart once the defender allocates his air unit?
   
The last situation leads to all kinds of round and round arguments.  (Defender puts his fighter into interceptor mode thinking that the fighter is going to the ground and then the attacker puts his into air to air and gets to hit the defender instead.  Or the defender puts his fighter into the air to air and the attacker puts his in the bomber row and goes right on by.)

Maybe I am missing something in the rules that spells it out better.

[thenorthman]

I would say the fighter is not locked into being a bomber even though that was his original intent. (After all if a fighter comes up to meet him he can always just jetison his bombs where he is at). 

If he does do the air to air, and wins I would say the strategic is canceled since he droped his bombs to fight air to air.

I think the one with the most planes get to choose then it goes the attacker places first if they are the same. (Or do I have that backwards.)

If the strategic fighter decides to continue as a bomber he dosn't get to change it if the defender decides to meet him in air to air. (Basically he was jumped.)

He is only forced to stay with the bombing decsion if he had to choose first to place on the battle board. Kind of making single plane bombing forces pointless if they wouldn't have air suprioity, which is fairly historic.

My two cents.

Sean

[Mark]

The way the rules are written (and were intended to be interpretted  ) was the following:

The attacker flies his air units into a territory.  After the attacker has moved, the defender flies defensive air support.

The side with the least number of fighters deploys his planes first (or the defender if equal) as either air-to-air or as bombers.  Then the other player does the same.  Then the side with the least number of fighters (or the defender if equal) decides how many of his air-to air fighters are going to be by-passing interceptors (and go after bombers) then the other player does the same.

Then air to air combat is resolved, players may choose to take their air-to air casualties off of air to air fighter or by passing interceptor fighters (but by-passing interceptors don't get to shoot back in air-to-air combat).  Then interceptor to bomber combat is resolved.  Surviving bombers then get to strategically attack.

So, your attacking fighter is not "locked" into a bombing role until after you set up the planes per the steps above.  The attacking fighter could be deployed as an air-to-air fighter if the attacker wishes.

[smckenzie]

Seeking clarification.  For any air combat actually.

RE: P.18-19 of the rules.

Is there a distinct sequence (two steps)  where first both players decide who is a fighter and who is a bomber and then fighters are divided between fighter/interceptor.

I'd say from both the rules and the example it is clear there are two distinct steps, but we are having a rules dispute.

[Mark]

It is two steps - first allocate fighters and bombers.  Then decide which fighters will be bypassing and move them to interceptors in a second step.

Mark

[smckenzie]

Thanks.