 Initially reassigned to 10 . / JG 1 based in the Ruhr , he shot down his first Viermot ( four @-@ engined bomber ) , his 7th victory , on 26 February 1943 . This was the beginning of a new war for Specht – the 8th USAAF was starting its bombing offensive on the Reich ’ s industrial complex . Soon afterward , on 27 March , he was appointed StaKa of the newly reformed 7 . / JG 1 , then in May 1943 he was promoted to Kommandeur of II / JG 11 . Jagdgeschwader 11 was a new fighter wing , created in April 1943 by dividing Jagdgeschwader 1 ( flying Fw 190s ) in half and filling it out into a full wing with new Gruppen flying Me 109G @-@ 6 ' gunboats ' , to increase the homeland protection . He was based back near his original airfields on the North Sea coast , his unit the first line of defense against the bomber streams and their fighter escorts . 
