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Major Adolf Galland after scoring his 40th victory on 23 September 1940. Galland is greeted first by his crew chief Uffz. Mayer. By the end of 1940, Galland had 58 victories. Promoted to Oberstleutnant, he continued to lead JG 26 through 1941 against RAF fighter sweeps across northern Europe. In early 1941 most of the fighter units of the Luftwaffe were sent to the Eastern Front, or south to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, thus leaving JG 26 and Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen (JG 2) as the sole single-engine fighter Geschwader in France.