April 1942 continued with Fighter Command continuing the daylight offensive while Bomber Command stepped up the area bombing offensives by night. The American Eighth Air Force began operations escorted later in the year escorted by Spitfire Vs. The superiority of the Fw 190 over the Spitfire was evident to British. Air Vice Marshal Johnnie Johnson remarked "Yes, the 190 was causing us real problems at this time. We could out-turn it, but you couldn't turn all day. As the number of 190s increased, so the depth of our penetrations decreased. They drove us back to the coast really.". 48 specific Fighter Command losses have been linked to JG 26 in April 1942. Many more were lost in aerial combat with either JG 2 or JG 26 . Improving weather conditions and the Fw 190 brought more casualties in May and June. At least 46 Fighter Command fighters were lost in action with JG 26 in this period while a further seven fell in combat with both JG 2 and JG 26—many more losses remain unattributed. Over claiming was an issue; for the first nine days of May, JG 2 and JG 26 claimed 53 (31 and 22 respectively). Actual Fighter Command losses were 35. For the same period, the German fighter units lost six between them; the British claimed 18 destroyed and another 18 probably destroyed. Though the subject of overclaiming is polemical, the disparity between the reported losses on either side was significant. Nine Spitfires were lost for every two Fw 190 or Bf 109s that sustained irreparable combat damage up to mid-May.