Commander of II/JG26, August 17, 1943, the first Schweinfurt-Regensburg raid:
"On 17 August 1943, at 16:52, three Staffeln from II./JG 26 took off from Lille-Nord, under the command of Major Galland, to intercept a formation of USAAF four-engine bombers on their return course from a bombing raid on Schweinfurt. Over Lutych, the unit encountered a formation of 150 to 200 bombers, escorted by nearly 200 escort fighters. II./JG 26 bounced the bombers but were, in turn, attacked by a unit of P-47 fighters from the 56th Fighter Group, USAAF. Their fire crippled the FW 190 A-5 (W.Nr. 530 125) <<+- flown by “Wutz” Galland which crashed at high speed near Liegne, 5 km west of Maastricht. The impact left a large crater in the ground from which it was impossible to remove all the wreckage. Some sources suggest that “Wutz” Galland was shot down by the American ace Walker “Bud” Mahurin (24.25 confirmed, 4 probable and 2 damaged victories) of the 56th Fighter Group, USAAF.
“Wutz” Galland was credited with 54 aerial victories in 186 missions. All his victories were recorded over the Western Front and included seven four-engine bombers and 37 Spitfires.
http://www.luftwaffe.cz/gallandw.htmlSept. 17, 1944, Operation "Market Garden", Commander of III/JG26:
Klaus Mietusch was engaged in combat with USAAF P-51 fighters on 17 September 1944. After gaining his 75th, and final victory, he was shot down and killed in Bf 109 G-6 (W.Nr. 441 646) “Black 25” in the vicinity of Rath-Aldekerk by the American ace, Lieutenant William Beyer (9 victories) of the 376th Fighter Squadron of the 361st Fighter Group, USAAF. He was posthumously awarded the Eichenlaub (Nr 653) on 18 November.
In 452 combat missions Klaus Mietusch gained 75 victories. He gained 60 victories over the Western Front including 13 four-engine bombers. He was wounded several times and was shot down ten times.
"My other combat victories were not nearly as spectacular as this one, and it is with this in mind that I can recall it so vividly."
http://www.luftwaffe.cz/mietusch.html