Fuel reserves had built up permitting a full-strength mission on 13 March. Morale remained reasonably high in JG 26. ULTRA intercepts picked up a request from the 14 "Fliegerdivision" on 25 March requesting volunteers for conversion onto the Messerschmitt Me 262. 58 pilots from KG 30, 49 from JG 27 and 36 from NSGr 20 did so; only 14 from JG 26 volunteered indicating a willingness to remain with their unit. A further order was passed down to accept only pilots with the Knight's Cross or German Cross in Gold for jet training. From 1 April the Western Allied invasion of Germany was gathering momentum. Allied armies had broken through the German lines and were surging across Germany akin to their campaign in France in 1944. JG 26 was ordered to conduct reconnaissance, since the German army had no frontlines, intelligence on Allied movements, or close support operations against road traffic. I. "Gruppe" moved to Delmenhorst on day two, while form the 3 April, II. "Gruppe" and its Fw 190 Ds received bombs and bomb racks; from this point they were a purely ground-attack "gruppe". On 7 April, I., II. and III. "Gruppen" flew 30 ground-attack sorties. IV. "Gruppe" was scattered across several airfields, but was ordered officially to Stade. The following day JG 26 conducted a general withdrawal toward Hamburg as the Americans advanced through Hannover toward Berlin. JG 26 carried out s small number of attacks against them, and on the British Army as it neared Bremen. On 9 April IV. "Gruppe" was disbanded at Stade, and handed its aircraft to I. and II. "Gruppen" who had no more than 35 Fw 190s between them. On 19 April the wing managed to fly 35 sorties and the following day Hans Dortenmann became the last member of JG 26 awarded the Knight's Cross. On 24 April his unit flew against the Red Air Force over Oranienburg, claiming three Soviet fighters without loss. I. "Gruppe" withdrew to Klein-Kummersfeld on 28 April.