The Belgians who managed to escape in 1940 were, like the Dutch, small in number and by 1944 made up a 2,000 strong Brigade under Major Jean Piron and 5 SAS (Belgian Independent Parachute Company). There was an RAF unit of 1,200 men with Royal Belgian Navy personnel manning two Flower Class corvettes, K.226 HMS Godetio and K.193 HMS Buttercup. Some 38,000 Belgians also served for the Germans on the Eastern Front in the 27th and 28th Waffen-SS Freiwilligen Divisions "Langemarck" and "Wallonien".