Let me take this a couple pieces at a time...
Presumptive reasoning. How do you know that was the motivation? What do you know about AHII setups versus Warbirds? Were you event or arena staff there? Have you been here? How many of the AvA staff do you even know on the basis of not only playing the game alongside them but interacting with them in forums and during events here?
I already answered the presumptive reasoning charge to the best of my ability. However, it's true that I can't be certain that cv's were added just because they exist in the MA, but it seems like a reasonable inference because they were not used in the actual BoB. That's certainly a better inference than explaining the presence of cv's with some despotic wish on the part of the AvA staff to punish the axis for past arrogance.
I can't common on current warbirds setups as I haven't played the sim in many years, but I can compare what we have in AH today to what warbirds had in the past around the time of version 2.x. Back then we had the "historical arena." There were no gv's in the game, so there was no question of them being in any setup. Still, no cv's were ever included in a BoB 1940 setup (but there were ships at port you could bomb), and no one every said they ought to be. Field capture was enabled, but happened infrequently (you had to drop in paras with a ju52). Probably the lack of gv's and their sneakiness factor made that a bit more difficult. So, the basic planeset was the Hurri, Spit and B25C for the Uk (the latter being a subsitute), and 109, 110, Ju88 and Ju87 for germany (both sides had the Ju52).
I was never part of the staff that set up the historical arenas, or the scenario lites, or the big scenarios: so all of my experience is as someone who enjoyed the fruits of their labor. I'm also new to AH because I've only recently got back into flight sims, so my participation with AvA staff here on the forums is minimal. However, whether I've had personal interactions with the AvA staff has nothing to do with my ability to make sound suggestions or criticisms of what they've provided us.
Now that I've bombarded you with questions and you may be feeling like I'm picking on you for critisizing the AvA staff, let me assure you that I don't think the current setup is perfect, either. But let me also go so far as sharing that I've yet to see one that ever was ... even the ones I helped set up here in the past. I know you may not be asking for perfection ... but ... every single player that's played this arena ... long-term or short-term ... whether they give it a pass of fail ... has had something (or things) they thought needed addressing ... by the staff. And, trust me, for everything that needed addressing there was at least one other vocal player who either thought something else beared more pressing attention or disagreed with the first players's assessment altogether. Your and my general opinion on what physical arena elements seem broken may not be far apart. But your and my impression on not only who to blame but how much blame exists doesn't. I know that in the past, disabling the ability to capture by any method has reduced the playerbase as much as uncontrolled capture has. There's a balance.
I'd like to point out again that I don't put all the blame on the AvA staff, far from it. But since they have a bit more power in these matters than the rest of us, it's seems reasonable to me to hold them accountable for what they can control, nothing more or less than that.
There's only so much you can so with settings and dictation when it comes to fostering a supportive and dedicated playerbase for the AvA. It's always been the red-headed stepchild of AHII. It's a player mindset that'll create more problems than anything. I bet if you look closely enough at your experiences in Warbirds you'll see the same. Does the community put it's weight behind immersion ... historical immersion, especially? If so, it's the community, as a whole, that deserves credit and reaps the benefit. If not, it's the community, as a whole, that deserves blame and suffers the consequence. If the players don't care about it, whether through ignorance ("How come most of the fighters aren't enabled in the hanger?! Why isn't there a side for the Knights?! I'm a Knight?!) or ambivalence ("So what if the Allies weren't focused on liberating France during the Battle of Britain? The setup gave me the tools and this is what I like!") or a mixture ... it'll be the players that look for ways to play the game outside of historical perspective, no matter what the settings, that set the tone of the AvA. And for those who, ironically, seem the rare exception to the current AvA community mindset ... that of being actually into settings that provide greater historical immersion ... until they can organize, inspire and motivate the rest, they're stuck with what the rest of the community either actively does or blissfully puts up with . Look at TK's post. He helped facilitate and organize invasions to prove a point. To prove a point! But even he couldn't have done so if the players who followed along didn't want to and didn't think it was more fun than flying Spits and Hurris in their historical role of defending their island against inbound Luftwaffe bomber formations and fighter escort (which ... BTW ... ain't happening if the Axis players aren't there to do it or don't care to do it).
A couple of other differences between then and now: we had a number of historically based squads who made it their business to hold their squad night in the historical arena, but here that doesn't seem to be the case (though FSO is even better for those who get to participate). One thing that's really missing from the AvA are bomber squads. The 100th BG (the haze) who only recently moved here to AH, as I understand it, used to join up with the old 4th FG in the historical arena, and they would even become the 100th KG during BoB events/arenas. We certainly need more bomber pilots in this current AvA setup.
edit: I should say that there are still some squads regularly present in the AvA, and it sounds like there used to be more.
The atmosphere of the AvA has always been player driven, no matter how hands on the AvA staff decide to be. And it's not like any of the AvA staff are making a living being AvA staffers. They're players just like you ... many of whom have lives that don't allow baby-sitting the arena as much as the AvA community (which isn't banding together to help historical immersion all that much right now) sometimes demands. Quite honestly, if you think you can do a better job of it (and please try not to take offense .. you may well can) ... then write up your resume' of Warbirds experience and experiences, throw your hat in the ring and run with it. But I'm telling you, if you don't start with the community first (even as a dedicated non-staff player) and resort to making a habit of complaining about how it's all the staff's fault, whether you're selected to serve or not you may have to reap your own sowage in a negative way. That way being the continued sufferage of setups that don't meet your uncompromising standards because the community you failed to inspire as a peer doesn't appreciate a heavy hand and has four main arenas to choose from where they perceive there isn't as heavy a one.
Good suggestions. You have a good point here that the players need to change if the arena is going to change. Most of this thread is just people screaming past each other. I'm going to be a
father 
in a little while, so I don't think now would be the right time to try to throw my hat in the ring. What I can do is draw up some thoughts about what would make a good BoB setup and post it here for your review.
