I "Gruppe" reported 22 Ju 88s fit for combat in April. It was based at Sarabus in the Crimea via Kharkov and arrived there from 7–14 May. The group supported the 11th Army advance into the Crimea. It rapidly redeployed to Kharkov via Zaporozhye on 14 May. 76 supported the counter offensive at the Izyum salient in the Second Battle of Kharkov from 15 to 27 May. It operated under the "Fliegerkorps" IV commanded by Kurt Pflugbeil. On 18 May Pflugbeil's command destroyed 130 tanks and 500 other vehicles. The following day it claimed another 29 tanks destroyed. As the battle came to a close, the tightly packed and trapped Soviet forces were defeated in detail. "Fliegerkorps" IV claimed 596 aircraft in the air and 19 on the ground during the battle. 227 tanks, 3,083 motor vehicles, 24 artillery batteries, 49 artillery pieces, two anti-aircraft batteries, 22 locomotives and six trains for the cost of 49 aircraft.