 From mid-1941 through to 1942, JG 26 were fully occupied with defending German military targets in northern France and Belgium from RAF incursions.JG 26 defended airspace east of the Seine to the Dutch border, while JG 2 covered west of the demarcation line.The majority of the operations conducted were defensive but offensive "jabo" operations were conducted until the beginning of 1943 when they could no longer be spared for attack missions.