Complete the following sentence: The difficult task of slowly grinding down the Germans continued into 1942 and 1943. Squadrons also found themselves on tiring defensive patrols as small formations of Fw 190s flew 'hit and run' nuisance raids all along the south coast and the Hawker Typhoon came into squadron service.<unk> Squadrons also found themselves on tiring defensive patrols as small formations of Fw 190s flew 'hit and run' nuisance raids all along the south coast and the Hawker Typhoon came into squadron service. 19 août, lors de l'assemblée générale de la
Dieppe Raid, the RAF had an opportunity to engage large numbers of aircraft. Spitfire squadrons (42 with Mark Vs, and four with Mark IXs) flew ground-attack, escort and air-superiority sorties and prevented the from interfering in the ground and sea battle, claiming 106 victories. Postwar analysis showed that the RAF lost 106 aircraft, including 88 fighters and 18 bombers; 29 fighter losses were from flak, one ran out of fuel, two collided and one was a victim of friendly fire. real loss was 48 aircraft were lost, 28 being bombers, half of them Dornier Do 217s from KG 2. JG 2, lost 14 Fw 190s and eight pilots killed, JG 26 lost six Fw 190s with their pilots. Spitfire losses stood at 70 destroyed and damaged to all causes; the number lost to Fw 190s is unknown. 61 of the 106 RAF machines lost, which included all types, JG 2 claiming 40 and JG 26 claiming 21. 1942 Fighter Command claimed 560 victories against a true loss of 272 German fighters from all causes, for 574 RAF day fighters destroyed.