with Spitfires, P-51s and Yaks over Tempelhof, Germany. The unit surrendered to the British forces in early May 1945. Bomber interception tactics of JG 11 As JG 11 formed in 1943 the bombers of Eighth Air Force were starting to extend their bombing operations, and JG 11 pilots avoided combat until the escorts were forced to break off. As a means of combating the massed firepower of bomber streams, JG 11 personnel trialed the viability of bombing the formations from above with 250 kg bombs, a practice pioneered by Luftwaffe Oberleutnant Heinz Knoke in March 1943. On 28 July 1943 Unteroffizier Fest of 5./JG 11 claimed three B-17's with a single bomb. However the loss in performance of the bomb-laden Bf 109's, along with their vulnerability to escorting fighters, soon curtailed the practice. 5./JG 11 were at the forefront of tactical developments for effectively intercepting the day bomber formations. The most effective tactic were mass frontal assaults, while other methods trialed were the use of the aforementioned BR 21 heavy-calibre rocket ordnance. These were inaccurate but were used primarily to break up the bomber formations. Notable successes and losses Several 'Bomber-killer' Aces () were among the veterans of II./JG 11. Hauptmann Gerhard Sommer of 4./JG 11 claimed 10 heavy bombers and Oberleutnant Heinz Knoke of 5./JG 11 claimed 12 victories by the end of 1943. Knoke's 5./JG 11 claimed as many heavy bombers as the other two Staffeln put together. This prompted 5./JG 11 to consider themselves as experts versus heavy bombers (). Like its sister units engaged in Reich defense, JG 11 suffered heavy casualties in both pilots and aircraft. Many of the pilots killed were highly experienced and irreplaceable Experten. Hauptmann Hugo Frey (32 claims, including 26 heavy bombers, killed 8 March 1944), Hauptmann Gerhardt Sommer (20 claims, 15 heavy bombers, killed 12 May 1944) and Feldwebel Wilhelm Fest (15 claims, 8 confirmed victories May 1944) were just three of JG 11's best aces to fall. In April 1944 Staffelkapitän of 10./JG 51, Leutnant Horst-Günther von Fassong, was transferred to lead 7./JG 11. He was credited with 62 victories on the Eastern Front at the time. He added several B-17s in the next month before promotion to Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 11. Von Fassong died on 1 January 1945 during Operation Baseplate, and his aircraft cartwheeled after attack by two P-47 Thunderbolts. Another major casualty of Operation Baseplate was