[Bobb4]

Things I can think of on the top of my head.
Kill logbooks very similar to Red Baron 3d. Intel briefings listing the highest scoring aces both enemy and your own. The accuracy of the enemy, ace review can be speculation..
Good mission briefings with definable targets and debriefings.
Random plane malfunctions. Agree bailouts should be first person.
An active ready room/pilot room, an office should be given to pilots as they are promoted.
While ai crewmembers need not be modelled, (animated) you should have dossiers on them indication their sate-of-mind, health etc.
As you are promoted or choose at the start to take a more senior role you should have dossiers of everyone in your squadron including ground crew etc.
Medals, rest period and promotions should be under your control.
Example a young sergeant pilot joins.
Three missions later he is an ace. Do you make him a flight leader?
Six sorties into the battle D flight has returned again without a kill – Do you replace Flight Sergeant Bob?
Again most of this can be done without much work on animations and game engine.
Model cowardice, heroism with a lot of stats and figures.
Six kill Flight leader sergeant Smith rtb's shortly before contact with the enemy for the tenth time, in the last 12 missions, what do his medical records show. Does he need resting or has he lost it and needs rotation as an instructor?
The single player that just wants to fly can still become a flight/squadron leader he just hands over the mundane stuff to ai adjutants.
Infligh random but rare radio malfunctions.
Rookie ai that battle to stay in formation, especially new replacements.
Rookie fighter pilots that (ai) cannot shoot, time spent on the range will improve their stats.
The longer a pilot (ai) lives the better some stats should become, counter balanced by moral.
High losses means = poor moral, the loss of a top ace = poor moral.
What I hope for in SOW is that they make the squadron, be it Italian, German or British a living breathing entity, not necessarily by fancy animation but by using just some of the above...