For quite a while now I have been filling the entire allied team in the QMB with 1943 P-47s and flying them against the axis side filled with all Bf-110s and eight 1943 FW-190s. Sometimes I will swap a group of four oddball aircraft into the allied side to see what they can do, currently trying out four 1943 P-39 aircraft.
I like 1943 for the WWII air-war as I think it was the most evenly balanced from the technology view, nobody had a large advantage in aircraft performance.
I have run this scenario too many times to remember or count, and I can never guess which side will win. If I stay alive until my ammo runs out it is always a good thing though and usually means a win for my side. The German aircraft all having 20mm cannons means you can not really afford to take a hit. The P-47 is tough though and I have been able to keep fighting after being hit, but it is not as much fun or as effective to fight in a P-47 that is down on power or is missing some of it's controls or wing area.
I usually load the P-47 with a light fuel load and "extra ammunition" for the guns, trying to not put in too much fuel that the plane has less performance, but not so little fuel that if I get some holes in it all the fuel will drain out and I am eliminated by running out of fuel. The tanks seal up, but not until some or a lot of fuel is lost.
The tail gunners on the 110 can take out your engine or pilot easily, so you need good gunnery and tactics to hit the 110 with your fifty-caliber guns from any direction except the rear. And of course if you get the attention of two or four of the fw-190s then you are going to be kept busy long enough that your AI wingmates will be fighting without your help.
The best tactic I have found is to fly off away from the battle until the AI calls it has spotted the enemy, then to turn back towards the battle and get as much altitude as possible, making fast passes on as many aircraft as possible. This gets them chasing you instead of your AI. After you get so many after you then you end up diving to the deck and evading their fire while creating opportunities to shoot at them and take them down.
You have to do your part and keep a lot of the axis AI busy at once with your P-47, if you spend too much time fighting just one or two aircraft then your AI will have too much to do and will usually be massacred.
I set all the AI to ACE and run the two sides together at 1000 meters altitude on a clear day.
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