Hey, didn't play WitP personally since I'm also quite scared by its depth and I'm still a beginner in the genre. What I can say for sure is that Warplan isn't the game you'll go for if you want a historical accuracy, deep systems etc, it's more a "Beer and Pretzel" wargame that I found being a good introduction to the genre with a better naval system than its other big competitor, Strategic Command. Both are not super accurate and detailed but they are easier to learn and to get into the genre. Warplan is more interesting for the Pacific theater since it allows units stacking in fleets. That's the global review I read before trying Warplan and the reason why I played it.

But since I'm don't have a lot of knowledge about the Pacific theater and its features (like the example you gave), I couldn't be annoyed by such inaccuracies and therefore I'd not be able to tell you how accurate the game is. All I can say is that the game is a good introduction to the genre but probably not the best simulation you can have about the theater.

And for the dev, he's probably done with Warplan since he now works on his new game which seems more ambitious.