The Air Assets Private Window
All your land-based aircraft counters can be deployed either directly onto the airfields of the strategic map or in the Air Assets Private Window, or partially on both. At the start of a new game air assets start automatically deployed in the Air Assets Window.
The Air Assets window can be accessed from the Vassal toolbar. It is a button called '[Blue/Red] Air Assets'. Click on the button to open the 'Air Assets' window.
The Air Assets window is a private window, This means that when it is opened, only you can see it. Your opponent never gets to see the contents of the window just as you never get to see the contents of his. This enables a degree of secrecy or 'Fog-of-War' to be introduced in to the game. It is your choice as to whether or not you use the Air Assets Window.
Every Airfield facility that belongs to you on the strategic map has a corresponding Airfield facility counter in the Air Assets window as shown below. In the image below I have placed the Blue Homeland from the strategic map alongside an image of the Blue Air Assets window. The Blue Homeland has 5-airfields (circled in red). Each airfield is also represented in the air-assets window;
All aircraft squadron counters that are based at a particular airfield are placed alongside the appropriate airfield in the Air Assets window.
In the example above, Fighter Sqdn. 5, Fighter-Bomber Sqdn. 1 and Dive-Bomber Sqdn. 3 are all stationed at Airfield 3.
Deploying Air Assets
To deploy your Air Assets first make sure that the target is within range of the aircraft squadron - you can do this by using the LOS Thread from your airfield/carrier to the target.
Open the Air Assets window and drag the Squadron counter from the window onto it's home airfield or Carrier base.
Then, drag the Squadron from it's home airfield/crrier to the target. This will leave a line called a movement trail and when you finsih moving the counter a tag will appear with 'Moved' written on it.
This indicates that the counter has had it's move this turn and cannot be moved further except to return it to it's home airfield or carrier.
Note that aircraft launched from land-bases cannot be launched from one Airfield, attack a target, and then land on a different Airfield. Land-based air missions always start and finish at the same airfield (Exception: aircraft returning from a mission to a destroyed Airfield. See Air Strike Resolution, point 2). To move aircraft between airfields you must use 'Air Transfers' (see below).
Carrier based aircraft CAN be landed on another friendly carrier as long as they have sufficient movement points to reach the assigned carrier. For instance, in Figure 1, a Torpedo Bomber is launched from Carrier #1, attacks it's target and then is redirected to land on Carrier #2. As long as Carrier#2 is within it's range (measured from the aircraft's target hex to the carrier) the aircraft can land at it's new location.
Figure 1: Bomber landing on different Carrier (Click to Enlarge)
Air Transfers
Assuming that your aircraft have the range (check on the Data Table in the 'Airfields' tab), they can be moved to another airfield in the 'Air Transfer' phase of the Game Turn. In this case, simply move the appropriate counters around within the Air Assets window. Make sure that you observe the maximum number of squadrons permitted per airfield.
