[PvK]

Yes, I don't think fighters would need to take off sideways, so it wouldn't need to be long. However it is visually iconic of what it is.

I do think it's a meaningful distinction between interior and exterior bays, though:

Pros of each:
* Interior bays are protected from direct harm by the rest of the ship, and can more easily be sealed from vacuum.
* Exterior pads can use exterior space to store things, provide easier access for launching and landing (especially by fighters that may not fly so well due to damage), and may uncomplicate interior ship design.

Cons of each:
* Interior bays only have so many launch tubes linking them to the exterior, so you need devices to swap fighters in and out to share them, which is probably going to require more machinery and launch/recover fighters more slowly. They also require the rest of the ship interior to be designed around them.
* Exterior bays take up otherwise-potentially-useful surface area (where you might prefer to have, say, weapons, sensors, comms, thrusters, etc.), and of course expose the fighters and pads to immediate harm.

As for force field bubbles keeping air in them, that could be used, or not. Air isn't needed to land, and pilots can have suits. Pilots, supplies, and fighters can then go in and out through conventional systems such as airlocks or elevators, as required.

PvK