Communications Squadron. Three Spitfires were also lost and two damaged. At least one RAF Transport Command Douglas Dakota was destroyed. The pilots of JG 27 and JG 54 claimed 85 victories and 40 damaged. German reconnaissance was able to confirm 49. JG 27 suffered unacceptable losses; 17 Bf 109s, 11 pilots killed, one wounded and three captured. IV./JG 54 lost two killed and one captured. Three Fw 190s were lost and one damaged. Gilze-Rijen and Eindhoven Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3) and Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51) were tasked with eliminating the Allied units at the Eindhoven base and Gilze-Rijen airfield. The field contained three RCAF reconnaissance squadrons operating a mix of Spitfires and Mustangs and eight Typhoon squadrons of the RAF and RCAF. Some 22 Bf 109s of I./JG 3 took off, along with four from Stab./JG 3, 15 from III./JG 3 and 19 Fw 190s from IV./JG 3. KG 51 contributed some 21 of their 30 Messerschmitt Me 262 jets to the action. Some histories mistakenly include Kampfgeschwader 76 (KG 76) on the order of battle, but KG 76 did not take part in the mission. Each Staffel was expected to make at least three firing passes. I./JG 3 took off and joined the lead Gruppe, IV. (Sturm)/JG 3, with III./JG 3 following in the rear. The Bf 109s and Fw 190s of the Geschwader reached the area at about 09:20. Geschwaderkommodore Heinrich Bär led the attack. Some pilots made four passes, destroying AAA emplacements, fuel storage stations and vehicles. Nearly 300 aircraft were on the field, along with huge stores of equipment and fuel. The attack caused fires all over the airfield. JG 3 claimed 53 single-engine and 11 twin-engine aircraft destroyed. Five fighters and one four-engine bomber were also claimed damaged. Four Typhoons, three Spitfires, one Tempest and another unidentified aircraft were claimed shot down. All in all, JG 3 destroyed 43 aircraft according to British records, and damaged a further 60, some seriously. The Geschwader believed it had destroyed 116. JG 3 did not come away unscathed. I./JG 3 lost nine of its aircraft and pilots, a 50% loss rate. Damage to the returning Gruppe aircraft meant the entire unit was unserviceable. RAF AAA were credited with shooting down five. JG 3 lost, altogether, 15 of the 60 fighters sent, a 25% loss rate. Some 15 pilots were missing; nine were killed and five captured, and another