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I started a 1941 GC as the Axis against the AI. My campaign has been going well on the ground but the air has been another story. While my initial airfield strikes at the start of the 1941 campaign were successful, by the end of 1941 and into early 1942 (now June with the battle for Moscow raging) Soviet air power seems to be on par with my German forces. In the massive air battles that ensue, my forces often lose planes at a 1:1 rate with the Soviets. I'm concerned because this doesn't look sustainable and my fighter cover is being worn down at an alarming rate.

I played WIR 4-5 years ago quite extensively and I feel like I remember the Germans having a fairly significant edge on the Soviets until later in the war. When the Soviets hit my airfields with 200 fighters and 300 bombers, I can usually field ~200 interceptors but the soviets and I both end up losing 75-80 fighters per battle. This development seems odd to me. Is there something that I might be overlooking when it comes to these air battles? The same thing happens during ground attack missions too - very high losses.

Did you upgrate to FW190 instead of old Me109E?

Switch your aircraft factories one at a time to FW190 as soon as possible and train your airgroups back home until they reach experience levels above 80. I don't remember anymore whether the distance of your frontline Air HQs is important but common sense suggests fighters should be as close as possible to both the frontline and your bomber airfields.