German fighter aircraft in the west increased from 430 on 27 September 1941 to 599 on 30 September 1942. The new year of 1942 began with a continuation of the 1941 successes. In February 1942, the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the cruiser Prinz Eugen escaped from the French port at Brest in Operation Cerberus upon their return from the recent Operation Berlin. One of Sperrle's former wing commanders, General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland, planned Operation Donnerkeil, an air superiority plan with Sperrle's chief of staff Karl Koller. From the Luftwaffes perspective, the operation was a success against the odds. Sperrle was able to provide five bomber groups for the Donnerkeil. The Circus offensive in 1942 succeeded in putting Sperrle's air defences under pressure. Fighter Command flew 43,339 daylight sorties over Western Europe and Bomber Command 1,794. The largest air battle occurred on 19 August 1942 during the Dieppe Raid. Luftflotte 3's units won a significant victory over Fighter and Bomber Command. The British lost 106 aircraft; the Germans lost only 48 aircraft destroyed and 24 damaged. At the end of 1942, Leigh-Mallory replaced Douglas as AOC Fighter Command. The two men had presided over the loss of 587 fighters while Sperrle lost 108 through the year. The British losses were equivalent to 30 squadrons. The Luftwaffe did not remain on the defensive in 1941 and 1942. Sperrle's air fleet carried out intensive air attacks on Britain and the limited German bomber force was reinforced over the winter, 1941–42. Concurrently, Sperrle with support from Hans-Jurgen Stumpff, continued to carry out air attacks on shipping. The Baedeker Blitz became the largest air offensive against Britain in 1942. The campaign was prompted by the bombing of Lübeck. Hitler ordered Sperrle to bomb British cities that held cultural significance. Hitler specifically outlined the terrorist purpose of the bombing offensive aimed at civilian centres for the greatest impact on the British populace. The blitz was accompanied by fighter-bomber attacks against London and coastal towns, which took place until June 1943. In April 1943, Sperrle's air fleet could still muster 120 aircraft for these operations. The purpose of these fighter-bomber (Jabo) operations, which began from autumn, 1942, was for "reprisals", similar to the German bomber campaign. On 23 April 1942 the Baedeker offensive began with the Exeter Blitz and the Bath Blitz and extended west to Norwich. KG 2 carried the burden of campaign. In