... and you don't want to be a target? My personal recommendation is to fly the clown-tailed Ki-61.
To have a chance at success in the Ki, you'll need to keep in mind a few things:
(a) the clown-tailed Ki-61 uses the same motor as the BF109E, so feel free to WEP it from the ground up to around 15k, let the motor cool down from 15k to 20k, the WEP it some more on up to whatever you want to cruise at, based on your mission.
(b) the Ki-61 is a great downhill racer. It has a very clean airframe and bleeds energy very little. Don't be afraid to cut throttle if you're making a downhill attack - stealth is your friend.
(c) if you blow past your target, go into an evasive climb with WEP. The Corsair and Hellcat's .50cals will reach you out to around d1.0 so go evasive on your extension.
(d) your guns have a reasonable expectation of hitting to around d400, but your best chance of knocking an enemy out of the sky is to shoot inside d300. The Japanese guns pack a good punch but the ballistics and ROF aren't as good as the Yankee imperialist guns.
(e) Even though they both use the DB601 motor, the Ki-61 has a greater range than the BF109E, even with just its internal fuel, and an even greater range with two wing tanks.
(f) The clown-tailed Ki-61 can turn better than the BF109E, particularly at high speeds. If you can get a Corsair to engage in a turnfight, you have a good chance at success. Against Hellcats, its more a case of pilot quality and remembering that you keep your energy better in a turnfight than the Hellcat.
(g) remember that you have a slightly better rate of climb than the F4U-1 and F6F, particularly with that long WEP time. If the fight ends up on the deck, the advantage shifts more to the Ki-61 since its able to get its nose up better and keeps its energy better.
(h) the Ki-61 cannons are in the cowl, so convergence is less of an issue for them. You can hit anywhere from d0 to d300, whereas the Navy planes lose their bullet stream during close-in fights.
