The Do 217 and Ju 88A-4 carried the burden of operations. These designs had been in use for operations over Britain from 1941/42 and had been used extensively by Luftflotte 3 (Air Fleet 3), based in France and Belgium.[38] The Do 217 could carry a heavier bomb load than its predecessor owing to a deepened fuselage.[39] However, the German practice of using external bomb racks meant nearly 40 percent of the 4,000 kg load was carried outside the aircraft. The Ju 88 carried nearly two-thirds of its load externally.[38]