war. The Luftwaffe had plenty of aircraft but a critical shortage of experienced fighter pilots. The Allied air campaign was not successful in knocking Germany out of the war by itself, but it contributed significantly to the German defeat, by forcing the Germans to focus valuable resources on the battle over Germany, which were then missed on other fronts. Albert Speer said that if the 1944 campaign against the Romanian oil fields had been continued for another month, the entire Wehrmacht would have been crippled. According to Speer, 98% of Germany's aircraft fuel plants were out of production. The production of aviation fuel fell from 180,000 tons to 20,000 tons between March and November 1944. To increase the Jagdwaffe'''s woes the American fighters were now flying shuttle missions and landing at bases in the Soviet Union. This tactic enabled them to extend their already considerable combat time over the target area. American enthusiasm for these missions ended when the Russians failed to defend these aircraft from Luftwaffe attacks. One such raid in March 1944 destroyed 43 B-17s and 15 P-51 fighters on the ground. Strafing Luftwaffe airbases became commonplace as 1944 wore on, until nowhere in Europe could the Jagdwaffe remain outside of Allied range. If the fuel crisis was bad enough the casualties suffered by the now largely defunct Kampfgruppen were starting to become serious. Most bomber units were now ferrying and transporting personnel across Germany. In April/May 1944 the Luftwaffe lost 67 aircraft of this type, as far east as Dresden. Many Allied fighter gun cameras often revealed that aircraft which had been claimed destroyed as '109's were often Arado Ar 96 trainers with a cadet pilot at the controls. To counter this non-combat flights were only to be carried out at dawn and dusk. The Luftwaffe expanded aircraft warning systems and devised radio signals to warn flights of intruders. If attacked, poorly armed aircraft were to dive down to tree-top level, and if necessary, the pilot was to belly land and take cover, as pilots were far more important than aircraft. The Germans also used camouflage, smoke screens and resorted to burying vital communications and electrical cables serving their radar and command stations. Ammunition was stored in tunnels along with precious fuel supplies. Allied pilots also noted that the Germans covered the airfields with 20 mm quadruple and 37 mm flak guns capable of putting up withering