Is it possible they are using the special fighter attack mode thingy that escalates damage? Have you tried using it yourself?
On another note, my captain is at Teir 4, and I went with the 20% range increase to <155mm guns including AA. The cleveland is now even more of a beast with 7.6km range on the guns and 60 AA rating. Common to get over 20 planes in one match now, just by staying near a BB.
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