By 1 September 1939, the fighter squadrons had been deployed to remote improvised airfields and were therefore protected from German air attack on the ground. The P.11 would be up against more modern German bombers and fighters—not only were the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Bf 110 faster and better armed, but most German "bombers" were also faster. Since the P.11 fighters had seen years of intensive use before the war, their maximum speed was even lower than the theoretical 375 km/h. The P.11a's were in even worse condition. In addition, their small total number meant that missions of groups larger than twenty aircraft were rarely undertaken, and reserve machines were almost non-existent.