pilots; he did not discipline those pilots who were prone to jettison their bombs early; he only participated as an escort, violating his own dictum of not asking the men to do something that he would not, while failing to convey to his men these missions were worthy of his attention. Galland's decision was even more difficult to understand given his service as a ground attack pilot. The Battle of Britain continued with large-scale dogfights well past 31 October, considered by some historians as the end of the campaign. A further eight victories—six Spitfires and two Hurricanes—were claimed in October including three on 30 October, which took his tally to 50—the last two victims were claimed at 16:00 CET and were likely from 41 Squadron. Pilot Officer G. G. F. Draper was wounded and Sergeant L. A. Garvey was killed. On 15 November, Galland flew his 150th combat mission and the following day claimed his 53rd and 54th successes against No. 17 Squadron RAF. The accuracy of Galland's claims have been assessed, and one source asserts that 44 of his 54 claims can be verified through British records and five definitely could not be reconciled with RAF losses. In November, a further six victories including four Hurricanes were accounted for – to raise his recorded victories to 51–56, putting him level with the late Helmut Wick, who had been shot down and killed on 28 November. On 5 December, Galland recorded his 57th victory. This made him the most successful fighter pilot of the war at that point, putting him ahead of his colleague, friend and rival Werner Mölders. Analysis conducted by James Corum found that the number of leading fighter pilots were small, but they shared special and indefinable qualities in piloting, particularly marksmanship, hunting skills and situational awareness. Corum found that during the Battle of Britain, Galland accounted for 14% of all JG 26's aerial successes, from a unit of around 120 pilots. Four of the wing's fighter pilots claimed an astounding 31% of all aircraft shot down. Channel Front In March 1941, Göring held a major conference for units in the west. After describing in detail the coming air offensive against Britain, he secretly admitted to Adolf Galland and Werner Mölders that "there's not a word of truth in it." The Luftwaffe was to transfer to the Eastern Front. Although only approximately two fighter wings remained in