I think it’s generallly a good idea to have cruisers and battleships be too expensive to reflect the real-life cost of building them.
I the name of historical accuracy, I think to simulate the battleships and cruisers already begun before the war, certain nations (mainly the UK and US) can buy 1 battleship and 2-3 cruisers 25% off.
The main trouble with this is that some will also want carriers to be included in this.
I think the anti-aircraft capability to cruisers and battleships doesn’t really make sense for the reasons you describe. I feel that the regular combat capabilities the ships have already reflect their anti-aircraft weaponry, and “[planes] wait[ing] until optimal range to release bombs/torpedoes, while the ships had been firing all throughout the approach” is too small and too tactical for an this game. In Global 1940, I feel one battle could actually be a series of battles (for example, the entire Solomon Islands campaign, despite being composed of dozens of seperate engagements by destroyers and cruisers, would likely simply be represented by some Japanese infantry and ships capturing the territory in 1 turn, then American forces destroying those units and liberating the Islands the next turn).
