The Zero, Me109 and Spitfire were in a class of their own until late 1942. The US didn’t have anything that could match them until the introduction of the F4U corsair, Hellcat and P51
The Wildcat and the P-40 could hold their own against a Zero. The improved Wildcat(FM2) was effective against Zeros.
Wildcats had a 6:1 kill ratio on Zeros.
P-38 was more than a match for the A6M and had considerably more range than the 109 or the Spit. Later model P-38’s were much faster as well.
But even the USN’s Wildcat and the USAAF’s P-40’s could run with the Zero simply by out-diving them. A6M’s couldn’t dive very well over 300 mph because their “barn-door” ailerons would lock-up and they couldn’t turn worth a damn.
Allied tactics in ‘42 over the Solomons was get altitude, dive on the Zeros, light-em up with 6 50 cal. guns loaded with ball/incendiary, and dive away. By late ‘43 the Japanese had lost almost all of their best pilots as a result.
In China, the American Volunteer Group, US fliers in service to the Chinese government was shooting down Zeros using P-40's. Claire L. Chennault, the group's commander, had figured out ways to take advantage of the Zero's shortcomings, such as its lack of armor. In addition, the Japanese army pilots they were facing were not as well trained as their counterparts in the navy.
The American Volunteer Group was soon absorbed by the US military and eventually became the Fourteenth Air Force.
“The US didn’t have anything that could match them”
More than a few zeros and 109’s were downed by P-40s. With the right tactics they held their own. The P-38 likewise. The P-39 also. Recent analysis of actual action for the P-40 showed it was a lot better than its modern reputation. Heck man, the Wildcat had a 5.9:1 kill ratio in 1942. Don’t believe everything you have read.
The P-40 did fine against the 109... except that the RAAF used a lot of P-40s as bombers in Africa and 109’s caught them flying low and slow with bombs. So kill ratio were skewed by that. In the air to air role they did fine against 109s.