 "Hauptmann" Franz Hrdlicka, who had survived being shot down near Arnhem by Spitfires the previous September, was killed on 25 March 1945 in action with US fighters only two days after receiving the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.JG 2s Fw 190s were now fitted with bomb racks to attack Ludendorf Bridge at Remagen, seized as a bridgehead by the Americans during the Battle of Remagen.JG 2 had ony 16 Fw 190 D-9s left by April, as the wing was formally assigned to Luftflotte Reich.