Bf 109E began arriving at the Jagdgrupen during the autuma of 1939 with II/JG 54 receiving some of the first macnines. On 22 November an E-3 fell into Allied hands when a pilot from II/JG 54 crashlanded near Worth, some twenty miles inside France. This machine would not only be tested by the French but was in turn sent to England and eventually to the U.S. for evaluation. The new, faster and harder-punching aircraft were extremely welcome to the young luftwaffe pillots that, on occasion, were literally fighting for their lives against Allied pilots.