(Apologies for ressurrecting an old forum post)
I am a little bit disappointed by this, too – that air units can kill submarines units with impunity. I know that planes get one round of fire, before the sub submerges, but usually that’s enough.
In my experience, subs never get a chance to really shine. They never get a chance to cruise the Atlantic or Pacific, because they become fodder for bombers and fighters. My gaming group never builds them, anymore. If you’re going to build 8 IPC fodder, might as well build a transport, and moves some units around.
Using A&A Pacific rules, subs were a valuable commidity, if you ignored the silly sub stalling exploit. Using a first turn submerge, they could move hidden, and be a major pain in the next for the unprepared player.
A&A Pacific subs were not overly powerful, but they were a nuisance, and could exploit a weakness.
However, in A&A Revised, subs end up just being fodder for the most part, in my opinion. With the exception that airplanes can attack subs, I liked the A&A Revised sub rules.