1. F4u1a climbing to around 5k quickly and leveling off to get speed when I arrive or........Yak3 NOE to keep dar bar from displaying and showing up at 360mph to surprise the attackers if they are low.
2. F4u1d with rockets and two big bombs.
3. Yak3, Brewster, N1K......sure a zero or ki43 can turn but you will surely absorb a couple of bullets before you can whittle down the enemy's altitude/energy advantage.