aircraft and damage to another 180 on the ground, as well as a further 10 shot down in flight; these claims were lower than the American planners had expected, however, and the raids were considered unsuccessful. USAAF losses were 11 P-51s to enemy action and seven to other causes. Due to the lack of Japanese air opposition to the American bomber raids, VII Fighter Command was solely tasked with ground-attack missions from July. These raids were frequently made against airfields to destroy aircraft being held in reserve to attack the expected Allied invasion fleet. While the P-51 pilots only occasionally encountered Japanese fighters in the air, the airfields were protected by antiaircraft batteries and barrage balloons. By the end of the war, VII Fighter Command had conducted 51 ground-attack raids, of which 41 were considered successful. The fighter pilots claimed to have destroyed or damaged 1,062 aircraft and 254 ships, along with large numbers of buildings and railway rolling stock. American losses were 91 pilots killed and 157 Mustangs destroyed. Medal of Honor recipients Two P-51 pilots received the Medal of Honor during World War II: USAAF Lt Col. James H. Howard of the 356th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group was awarded the Medal of Honor during a bomber escort mission near Oschersleben, Germany on 11 January 1944, flying P-51B, serial number 43-6315 nicknamed "Ding Hao". Despite being outnumbered, Howard shot down three German planes and continued to defend the bombers even when three of his guns went out of action and fuel supply became dangerously low. USAAF Maj. William A. Shomo of the 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron, 71st Reconnaissance Group was awarded the Medal of Honor during a mission over Luzon, Philippines on 11 January 1945, flying an F-6D, the armed photo reconnaissance variant of the P-51, serial number 44-14841 nicknamed "Snooks the 5th". On that mission, Shomo shot down seven Japanese planes and became an "ace in a day". Pilot observations Chief Naval Test Pilot and C.O. Captured Enemy Aircraft Flight Capt. Eric Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, RN, tested the Mustang at RAE Farnborough in March 1944 and noted: The U.S. Air Forces, Flight Test Engineering, assessed the Mustang B on 24 April 1944 thus: Kurt Bühligen, the third-highest scoring German fighter pilot of World War II's Western Front (with 112 confirmed victories, three against Mustangs), later stated: German fighter ace Heinz Bär said that the P-51: After World