Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 39, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 39, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the '' Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...

during World War I. The unit would score 68 aerial victories during the war, including 14 observation balloons downed. The squadron's victories came at the expense of seven pilots killed in action, one killed in a flying accident, five wounded in action, and one taken prisoner of war.

History

Jasta 39 was founded on 30 June 1917 at ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung'' (Replacement Detachment) 15, Hannover, Germany. It held its first formation 2 August 1917, under its original commander, Karl August Raben. It would serve until war's end, when the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' was disbanded.

Commanding officers (''
Staffelführer ''Staffelführer'' was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in the early years of that group's existence. The later SS rank of ''Staffelführer'' traces its origins to the First World War, where the tit ...
'')

# August Raben: 2 August 1917 (to Jasta 15 as ''Staffelführer'' on 14 March 1918) # Franz von Kerssenbrock: 17 November 1917 # Josef Loeser: 4 December 1917 # Johann Hesselink: 4 April 1918

Duty stations

# Hannover, Germany: 30 June 1917 # Ensisheim: 2 August 1917 # Campoformido, Italy: # San Giacomo, Italy # Roveredo, Italy # Cervada, Italy #

San Fior San Fior is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northeast of Treviso. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,357 and an area of .All demographics ...

, Italy # St. Loup, Champagne, France: March 1918 # Boncourt, France #

Guesnain Guesnain () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in ...

, France # Bapaume, France # Rocourt-Saint-Martin, France #

Erre Erre () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is east of Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefe ...

, France # Bühl, France

Notable personnel

Bernhard Ultsch ''Offizierstellvertreter'' Bernhard Ultsch (born 26 March 1898, date of death unknown) was a World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/ultsch.php Retrieved on 17 Apr ...

* Wilhelm Hippert * Ludwig Gaim *

Reinhold Jörke OStv Johann Friedrich Reinhold Jörke (29 July 1893 – 8 November 1944) was a German World War I flying ace credited with 14 confirmed aerial victories. Biography He was posted to the Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 12 on 27 February 1917, and score ...

Operations

Jasta 39 opened combat operations in support of '' Armee-Abteilung B'' on 15 August 1917. On 15 September 1917, it was transferred to Italy, where it would score 41 aerial victories. The squadron would return to France in March 1918, and serve there until war's end.

Aircraft

Jasta 39 operated Albatros D.III and

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...

fighters while in Italy. It is not known what other aircraft were used.

References

;Bibliography * 39 Military units and formations established in 1917 1917 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 {{wwi-air