"Maybe the holes in the runway might have something to do with it and the fact that the aircraft are busy elsewhere..................."
Exactly my point, we keep hearing on this board about how vulnerable CVF is and why its a waste of time. We never hear any mention of just how vulnerable fixed land airbases are, and as seen here, if we didnt have a carrier right now we'd be struggling to do anything. Once more the case for CVF is strengthened.