Defiant but Doomed by Stan Stokes. (B) BRE53 affording the observer / gunner

affording the observer / gunner a clear field

Honors accrued only to those with large victory totals

capable of providing long-range airlifts far into hostile territory in adverse weather conditions

but suffered terrible losses during the Battle of Britain before transferring to the Eastern Front at the outset of Operation Barbarossa

and the loss ratios for many British squadrons exceeded 90% early in the War

Defiant but Doomed by Stan Stokes. (B) BRE53 affording the observer / gunnerSTK0121B. Defiant but Doomed by Stan Stokes. Jagdeschwader 26, or JG 26, was one of the Lufwaffes elite fighter forces. Nicknamed the Abbeville Boys, or the Abbeville Kids, JG 26 gained tremendous notoriety early in the War while operating out of Abbeville in Northern France. Although JG 26 never operated with more than 124 fighter aircraft, the unit dominated its airspace over Northern France and Belgium for more than a two year period. Adolf Galland