Interesting fw document

[IceFire]

If flown according to the right tactics the FW190 will dominate over the Spitfire, Yak, and other fighters in a combat area. The FW190 is not a duel fighter...if you want to do that then fly the Bf109 instead. The FW190 is a hunter and a killer...if on the defensive its tough and generally fast enough to get you out of trouble to fight another day. But, its not too good at mixing it up without some wingman support.

If you've got a Spitfire or Yak in your sights and he turns...make a good deflection shot on him and then reposition rather than following the turn. You'll notice that in every comparison the FW190 is inferior in the turn except at high speeds (in some cases). Use the roll rate advantage to put yourself into a high yo-yo and then come back down on the Spitfire. So long as you fly like this you can generally dominate the fight and control it. If you get into a turn fight then its usually the Spitfire/Yaks turn to dominate so just don't do it.

The FW190 is probably the most extreme of the fighters available since its high firepower, incredible roll rate, and dive speed make it a fantastic fighter that sticks to hunting its prey rather than engaging into a prolonged fight. You pretty much have no choice but to use the hit and run/boom and zoom method. With some of the other fighters you have some options either way...all of the American fighters can, to some degree, fight in the horizontal depending on the opponent and relative speed differences. But with the FW190 thats almost always a bad thing. Once the FW190s fighting style gets into you...you stop liking the Spitfire and 109 as much and start liking the P-51, Tempest, Corsair, and P-47. Also once you start to fight this way the P-40 versus Zero matchup changes significantly from advantage Zero to advantage P-40.