Battle of Britain From June 1940 on, Galland flew as the Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 26 (JG 26), fighting in the Battle of Britain. On 19 July 1940, he was promoted to Major and JG 26 moved to the Pas de Calais, where they were to remain for the next 18 months with III./JG 26 based at Caffiers. On 24 July 1940, almost 40 Bf 109s of III./JG 26 took off for operations over the English Channel—a phase of the battle known as the Kanalkampf. They were met by 12 54 Squadron Spitfires. The Spitfires forced the larger number of Bf 109s into a turning battle that ran down the Germans' fuel. Galland recalled being impressed by the Spitfire's ability to outmanoeuvre Bf 109s at low speed and to turn into the Bf 109s within little airspace. Only by executing a "Split S" (a half-roll onto his back, followed by pulling into a long, curving dive) that the Spitfire could not follow without its float carburettor causing a temporary loss of engine power, could his aircraft escape back to France at low altitude. The II./Jagdgeschwader 52 covered their retreat, losing two Bf 109s to Spitfires from No. 610 Squadron. During the action, two Spitfires were shot down for the loss of four Bf 109s. Galland was shocked by the aggression shown by pilots he initially believed to be relatively inexperienced. Galland later said he realised there would be no quick and easy victory. As the battles over the Channel continued, Galland shot down Spitfires on 25 and 28 July. On 1 August 1940, Galland was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () for his 17 victories. Galland continued to make fighter sweeps over southern England before the main assault opened. On 11 August, Galland's unit engaged 74 Squadron. In a brief dogfight, one Spitfire was shot down. During these battles the RAF seemed to know just where and when to send their aircraft. This made Galland suspect a high level of organisation was at work controlling RAF fighters. The cloudy skies of Britain were a dangerous environment to confront an enemy that had an effective ground control system. Galland resolved to fly higher, where he could see most things and where the Bf 109 performed at its best. By 15 August, in two weeks' fighting over Britain, Galland had increased his own tally to 21. On this day he