Aistleitner was given command of the Staffel. That day, Glunz claimed two No. 411 Squadron Spitfires shot down southwest of Arras. The USAAF Ninth Air Force and the RAF Second Tactical Air Force attacked various targets in France on 21 December. Glunz claimed a Spitfire shot down near Vimy Ridge, southwest of Douai. The Spitfire belonged to either No. 132 or No. 602 Squadron. On New Year's Eve 1943, USAAF bombers headed for various factories in the Paris area as well as sending bombers to the lower Atlantic French coast. Intercepting the bombers heading for the lower French coast, Glunz claimed the destruction of a B-17 near Lorient. Squadron leader The USAAF 8th Air Force bombed the IG Farben chemical plant at Ludwigshafen on 7 January 1944. That day, Glunz claimed an aerial victory over a 4th Fighter Group P-47 near Boulogne. On 14 January, the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel, Aistleitner, was killed in action. In consequence, Glunz was appointed his successor and was made a Staffelführer, the first non-commissioned officer of JG 26 to hold such a position. On 11 February, VIII Bomber Command sent bombers to Paris and to Frankfurt in an attempt to split German defenses. Defending against this attack, Glunz shot down 351st Bombardment Group B-17 northwest of Poix. On 21 February, the USAAF attacked a number of airfields in western Germany. Intercepting the returning bombers, Glunz claimed a 95th Bombardment Group B-17 shot down west of Bergen aan Zee. On 22 February, the Eighth Air Force and Fifteenth Air Force dispatched 1,396 bombers, escorted by 965 fighter aircraft, to various Luftwaffe airfields and the German aircraft industry. The attack force had already come under attack by other Luftwaffe units, dispersing the fighter protection, when II. Gruppe intercepted the formation. At 12:50, Glunz claimed his first B-17 shot down that day west of Dorsten. The bomber may have belonged to the 91st or 384th Bombardment Group. In a further attack on the formation at 12:55 northeast of Wesel, Glunz claimed an Herausschuss over another B-17 which was not confirmed. Glunz again attacked the formation at 13:10 and claimed a further B-17 Herausschuss. Flying his second mission of the day, Glunz claimed an aerial victory over a P-47 escort fighter of the 78th Fighter Group at 15:30 northwest of Geilenkirchen. At 15:35, he was credited with a B-17 shot down southwest of Grevenbroich. Another B-17