AA formula

[publius]

does anybody know how the AA defenses are calculated? jesse posted earlier this week saying a check is made against the defense stat of the attacking plane. but what gets checked?

obviously the AA ratings aren't simply added together - because there are like 8 battleships in pearl at the beginning of the ww2 scenario and the japanese planes are still getting through, even with low defense ratings. so what's the formula?

[alexman]

Also, do AA defenses actually shoot down planes, or do they just prevent them from hitting their target? (Can you tell I don't have the game yet? )

[alva]

I think they shoot them down. ( I've got this from the WW2 scenario thread, not the one on this page)
Here's a quote from it.

Those flak guns are making a difference for the enemy! Alot of my planes have been shot down by them. A few times I seen some ships shoot them down too. Works pretty good but hurting me. Then again I have shot some US planes down too. In one turn I lost 3 zero fighters and a bomber from attacking one city that had AA and intercepting fighters.

Edit: added quote

[kring]

There is a formula, but I haven't seen it released by Firaxis or Breakaway yet.

The planes do get shot down. In my attacks on Pearl Harbor, I typically lose an average of 3 planes to American AA fire. This is roughly the same results I get when I am defending Pearl Harbor (3 Japanese planes shot down by my AA).