the Eastern Front when the order to scramble came through. 18 Bf 110s got airborne, were unable to find the bombers and landed at an airfield without the appropriate fuel and were out of commission for the rest of the day. Only II./ZG 26 made an attack, claiming three B-17s for the loss of two Me 410s. On 11 April the 3rd Bombardment Division, with support from 1st and 2nd, flew against six separate targets in central and eastern Germany. The 3rd took the Baltic Sea route, while the other divisions flew the well-trodden path south to the Zuider Zee. 917 bombers and 819 escorts were in the air and the Luftwaffe reacted by sending 432 sorties from 18 fighter, two heavy fighter and two night fighter groups. The spreading of the bomber stream reduced the escort screen's density. The 4th Fighter Group broke up the only attack on the 3rd Division en route to the target, by ZG 26. On the return, II. and III./ZG 26 caught the bombers unescorted. The Me 410 group attacked with rockets to the rear, while III./ZG 26 carried out four frontal attacks with cannons. They claimed 16 bombers—nine were shot down and a tenth landed in Sweden. A second sortie saw ZG 26 run into the 1st Division escorted by the 4th Fighter Group. Eight Me 410s and three Bf 110s, with 16 crew killed, three wounded. On 12 May 1944 the Eighth struck at targets in the Dresden area. The bomber stream was heavily engaged by JG 11 and JG 27. All 40 Me 410s that were combat ready were dispatched by ZG 26 to Dresden to await developments as the stream neared Frankfurt. ZG 26 was well-placed to intercept bombers heading towards Chemnitz and did so, claiming three B-17s and two Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers in exchange for four Me 410s and most their crews to return fire. Stab., I., and II./ZG 26 remained isolated in East Prussia as the Invasion of Normandy occurred in June 1944. It was allotted III./JG 300 to escort it in future interceptions, a role to which the latter was unsuited as it operated the Fw 190 heavy fighter variants. On 15 June the pair formed an attack on the 3rd Bombardment Division near Magdeburg. They downed two B-17s for six losses, though they claimed six bombers and two P-51s. III./JG 300 attacked the 492nd Bombardment