He lost four aircraft and three damaged. From 16 August 1940 it was non-operational. Two days later, the Stukas suffered a comprehensive defeat in "The Hardest Day" battles and were subsequently withdrawn from air superiority operations. StG 77 lost 22 aircraft destroyed or damaged on that day. For the Stuka wings spent the rest of their time on the Channel front idle. StG 2 carried out training exercises and occasional "special" missions which amounted to low-level attacks against coastal shipping at dusk. Hitschhold's group provided crews and aircraft for the Karl Ritter propaganda film Stukas with III./StG 2. The film was a box-office hit in Germany. Quartermaster General of the Luftwaffe reported significant losses for StG 2 from 4 July to 18 August 1940. StG 2 lost 25 Ju 87s with five more damaged. 19 were killed in action, four wounded in action and 18 missing in action. I./StG 2 suffered the loss of ten aircraft, four damaged, eight killed, one wounded and five wounded. II./StG 2 lost also lost ten aircraft, seven dead, one wounded, seven missing and two captured. III./StG 2 lost five Stukas and one damaged. Four men were killed, two wounded, six missing. Total Ju 87 losses from 3 July to 24 December 1940 amounted to 101 destroyed, 84 damaged to all causes. Malta and North Africa I. with III./StG 2 moved to Otopeni north of Bucharest, Romania under Richthofen in January 1941 after the cancelation of Operation Felix. II./StG 2 remained with Stab./StG 3. It staged southward to Sicily in December 1940 to interdict shipping between Sicily and Tunisia. Walter Enneccerus and II gruppe began operations supporting the Italian Siege of Malta. The group was in action on 10 January. The British Operation Excess was launched, which included a series of convoy operations by the British across the Mediterranean Sea. On 10 January they were within range of the Ju 87 bases. II./StG 2 sent 43 Ju 87s with support from I./StG 1. Some 10 Ju 87s attacked the carrier unopposed. Witnessed by Andrew Cunningham, C-in-C of the Mediterranean Fleet from the battleship , the Ju 87s scored six hits. One destroyed a gun, another hit near her bow, a third demolished another gun, while two hit the lift, wrecking the aircraft below deck, causing explosions of fuel and ammunition. Another went through the armoured deck and exploded deep inside the ship. Two further attacks