 In June 1942, Ihlefeld was promoted to "Major" (major) and on 26 June took command of JG 52.On 22 July 1942, whilst flying over the front in his Fieseler Fi 156 "Storch", a small liaison aircraft, he was shot down and badly wounded by Soviet fighters, this took him out of the front line until July 1943, when he joined the newly formed "Jagdgeschwader" 25 (JG 25—25th Fighter Wing) as "Geschwaderkommodore", leading the group's high-altitude Bf 109s in ultimately unsuccessful operations against RAF de Havilland Mosquitos, and later United States Air Force (USAAF) heavy bomber formations in defense of the Reich missions.On 1 February 1944, Ihlefeld was promoted to "Oberstleutnant" (lieutenant colonel).