the Gruppe lost 40 Bf 109s destroyed. In consequence, the airfield was abandoned by IV. Gruppe on 26 July, relocating to San Severo Airfield. On 21 August, approximately 50 to 60 Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers without fighter escort were intercepted by Luftwaffe fighters from IV. Gruppe of JG 3 and I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Bomber Wing) in the vicinity of Naples. Luftwaffe fighter pilots claimed four bombers shot down, including one by Beyer who was credited with his 82nd aerial victory. IV. Gruppe was ordered back to Germany on 24 September where it was initially again based at Neubiberg Airfield. Over the following weeks, the Gruppe was assigned new pilots and aircraft and trained for Defense of the Reich missions. The head on attack was practiced in mock combat against Heinkel He 111 bombers from III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 53 (KG 53—53rd Bomber Wing). The Gruppe flew its first combat mission against United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on 19 December. The day the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force attacked Innsbruck and the Messerschmitt factory at Augsburg. Defending against this attack, Beyer claimed a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber shot down. On 28 January 1944, IV. Gruppe relocated to Venlo Airfield. On 11 February, the USAAF Eighth Air Force targeted the German railroad infrastructure at Frankfurt. In parallel to this attack, a formation of Martin B-26 Marauder bombers, escorted by Spitfire fighters, attacked various targets in Belgium. IV. Gruppe intercepted this formation in the vicinity of Liège. In this encounter, IV. Gruppe claimed two aerial victories but lost Beyer. Flying Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 411036—factory number), he was chased by Spitfire fighters and collided with a tree south of Liège. Beyer was buried with military honors at Venlo on 17 February and later reinterred at the Ysselsteyn German war cemetery. Command of IV. Gruppe was temporarily passed to Hauptmann Heinz Lang before command was officially handed to Major Friedrich-Karl "Tutti" Müller on 26 February. Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Beyer was credited with 83 aerial victories. Spick lists Beyer with 81 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. This figure includes 70 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and eleven over the Western Allies. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 84 aerial