In 1943, the "Kriegsmarine" withdrew their interest in the Me 264 in favour of the Ju 290 and the planned Ju 390. The Luftwaffe indicated preference for the unbuilt Ta 400 and the Heinkel He 277 as "Amerikabomber" candidates in May 1943, based on their performance estimates. Further payments for development work to Messerschmitt AG for its design were stopped. Late in 1943, the second prototype, Me 264 V2, was destroyed in a bombing attack. On 18 July 1944, the first prototype, which had entered service with "Transportstaffel" 5, was damaged during an Allied bombing raid and was not repaired. The third prototype, which was unfinished, was destroyed during the same raid. In October 1943, Erhard Milch stopped further Me 264 development, to concentrate on the development and production of the Me 262 jet fighter-bomber.