During the Battle of Britain, the claimed 285 fighters shot down for the loss of 56 pilots, a ratio of 5:1. In the view of one analyst, JG 26s losses were fairly low, considering it had only four rest days from mid-August to the end of October. Galland ended the year one of the leading fighter pilots of the and was given national attention by the Nazi propaganda machine. Individuals like Galland, Mölders and Helmut Wick were publicised, unlike the Air Ministry which deprecated emphasis on individuals. Wick was dead before the end of November and Mölders under a year later. Four fighter pilots of the wing claimed 31 per cent of the aircraft shot down. At the end of 1940, seven JG 26 members had been awarded the Knight's Cross.