The first German success against the P-38 was on 28 November 1942 when Bf 109 pilots of "Jagdgeschwader" 53 claimed seven Lightnings for no loss of their own. Further one-sided German victories were noted on several occasions through January 1943. The first P-38 pilots to achieve ace status were Virgil Smith of the 14th FG and Jack Illfrey of the 1st FG, both credited with five wins by 26 December. Smith got a sixth enemy aircraft on 28 December but was killed two days later in a crash landing, likely after taking fire from "Oberfeldwebel" Herbert Rollwage of JG 53 who survived the war with at least 71 kills. This was Rollwage's first victory over a P-38, and his 35th claim at the time.