I don't know if you could say that the Jap planes were A LOT better. First of all the Americans had a faster plane, more armor, and more firepower. Most of the Jap planes had very little armor and some were even made out of wood - N1K-2J. Sure they had 20mm but most jap planes just 2 x 20mm. US Planes mostly carry 6 x 50's, which is very good firepower. The only thing that the jap planes had over American was turning. First of all, you don't want to be turning in a dogfight because of the possibility of other enemy. If anyone has anything to defend against this, that would be pretty cool to hear. S! All!
~Wildkat~