Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 4, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 4, 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 192 confirmed victories; in turn, it would suffer 11 killed in action, 9 wounded in action, and two taken prisoner of war. It was one of the units in the famed Flying Circus.

History

Jasta 4 was founded on 25 August 1916, drawing personnel from FFA 23 and other two-seater reconnaissance units within 2 Armee, as well as from Kampfeinsitzerkommando Vaux and Armee-Flugpark Nr. 2. In June 1917, it switched to support and control of the 4 Armee. On 24 June 1917, it became part of the forming '' Jagdgeschwader I'' (JG I). Also during that summer, the unit suffered a partial leadership vacuum, with its commanding officer Kurt-Bertram von Döring double-tasked with command of JG 1 due to the wounding of its CO, Manfred von Richthofen. Membership in the peripatetic Flying Circus kept Jasta 4 on the move, as they moved from hot spot to hot spot. During 1918, the ''Jasta'' operated for the fronts of 2 Armee, 6 Armee, 7 Armee, and 17 Armee. They ended the war on the 5 Armee front. Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 4 passed into history on 16 November 1918, when it was disbanded at FEA 9,

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

Commanding officers

The following served as ''

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 ...

'' of Jasta 4: * Hauptmann Rudolf Berthold: 25 August 1916 – 28 August 1916 *

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

Hans Joachim Buddecke: 28 August 1916 – 14 December 1916 * Oberleutnant Ernst Freiherr von Althaus: 14 December 1916 – February 1917 * Leutnant

Wilhelm Frankl Wilhelm Frankl (20 December 1893 – 8 April 1917), ''Pour le Mérite'', Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories. He scored his first aerial victory with a carbine on 10 M ...

: February 1917 – 8 April 1917 * Oberleutnant Kurt-Bertram von Döring: 8 April 1917 – 6 July 1917 * Oberleutnant Oskar Freiherr von Boenigk (Acting): 6 July 1917 – 25 July 1917 * Oberleutnant Kurt von Döring: 25 July 1917 – 6 September 1917 * Oberleutnant Oskar von Boenigk (Acting): 6 September 1917 – 23 October 1917 * Oberleutnant Kurt von Döring: 23 October 1917 – 12 December 1917 * Leutnant de Reserves

Kurt Wüsthoff Leutnant Kurt Wüsthoff (27 January 1897 – 23 July 1926) was a German fighter ace credited with 27 listed confirmed victories during World War I. Enlisting prewar at age 16 1/2, after learning to fly during the events leading to the war's start, ...

(Acting): 12 December 1917 – 20 December 1917 * Oberleutnant Kurt von Döring: 20 December 1917 – 19 January 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Kurt Wüsthoff: 19 January 1918 – 16 March 1918 * Leutnant Hans-Georg von der Osten: 16 March 1918 – 28 March 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Johannes Janzen: 28 March 1918 – 3 May 1918 * Leutnant Viktor von Pressentin von Rautter (Acting): 4 May 1918 – 20 May 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves

Ernst Udet Ernst Udet (26 April 1896 – 17 November 1941) was a German pilot during World War I and a ''Luftwaffe'' Colonel-General (''Generaloberst'') during World War II. Udet joined the Imperial German Air Service at the age of 19, and eventually ...

: 20 May 1918 – 14 August 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Egon Koepsch (Acting): 14 August 1918 – 19 September 1918 * Oberleutnant de Reserves Ernst Udet: 19 September 1918 – 22 October 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Heinrich Maushake (Acting) : 22 October 1918 – 3 November 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Egon Koepsch (Acting): 3 November 1918 – 11 November 1918

Duty stations (airfields)

Vaux Vaux may refer to: People * Antoine-Alexis Cadet de Vaux (1743–1828), French chemist and pharmacist * Bernard Carra de Vaux (1867–1953), French orientalist who published accounts of his travels in the Middle East *Clotilde de Vaux (1815–184 ...

: 25 August 1916 – 31 August 1916 * Roupy: 1 September 1916 – 11 December 1916 * Xivry-Circourt: 12 December 1916 – 9 February 1917 * Le Catelet: 10 February 1917 – 23 February 1917 * Douai: 24 February 1917 – 31 May 1917 * Ceune- Courtrai: 1 June 1917 – 1 July 1917 * Marckebeke: 2 July 1917 – 20 November 1917 *

Lieu-Saint-Amand Lieu-Saint-Amand () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is the home of the Sevel Nord facility, an automobile factory which builds Fiat, Peugeot and Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles ...

: 21 November 1917 – 25 March 1918 * Léchelle: 26 March 1918 – 2 April 1918 * Harbonnières: 3 April 1918 – 11 April 1918 * Cappy: 12 April 1918 – 19 May 1918 * Longchamps, Guise: 20 May 1918 – 25 May 1918 * Puisieux Ferme, Laon: 26 May 1918 – 30 May 1918 *

Beugneux Beugneux () is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 Communes of France, communes in the French Departments ...

: 31 May 1918 – 17 July 1918 * Monthussart Ferme: 18 July 1918 – 29 July 1918 * Puisieux Ferme, Laon: 30 July 1918 – 9 August 1918 *

Ennemain Ennemain () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and terr ...

, Falvy: 10 August 1918 – 11 August 1918 *

Bernes Bernes () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territ ...

: 11 August 1918 – 30 August 1918 * Busigny-

Escaufourt Saint-Souplet () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography Saint Souplet-Escaufourt is on the (departmental) route 115. It is part of the Canton of Le ...

: 30 August 1918 – 27 September 1918 * Metz-Frescaty: 28 September 1918 – 8 October 1918 *

Marville Marville may refer to: * ''Marville'' (comics), a Marvel Comics series from the early 2000s * Marville, Meuse Marville () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. An airbase built by NATO hosted fighter squ ...

: 9 October 1918 – 6 November 1918 *

Tellancourt Tellancourt () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department ...

: 7 November 1918 – 10 November 1918 * Aschaffenburg: 10 November 1918

Personnel

Besides the Staffelführer aces that led the squadron, a number of other notable aces served and scored with Jasta 4. They include: *

Hans Klein Hans Klein (17 January 1891 – 18 November 1944) was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 22 aerial victories. During World War II he held the position of Geschwaderkommodore of the JG 53 "Pik As" fighter ''Geschwader'' (wing). Early ...

* Fritz Anders

Aircraft and operations

Upon formation, the ''Jagdstaffel'' was equipped with

Halberstadt D.II The Halberstadt D.II was a biplane fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by German aircraft company Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke. It was adopted by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Army Air Service) and served through the period ...

and Fokker E.III fighters. By February 1917, it was operating Albatros D.IIs. It also operated

Pfalz D.III The Pfalz D.III was a fighter aircraft used by the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during the First World War. The D.III was the first major original design from Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Though generally considered inferior to c ...

s. Squadron markings during this time included black and white bands around the fuselages in addition to national markings. In early and mid-1918, it had Fokker Triplanes on strength, reportedly striped red and turquoise on wings and fuselages. The squadron also reportedly operated, at some time, Albatros D.IIIs,

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 ...

Halberstadt D.V The Halberstadt D.II was a biplane fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by German aircraft company Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke. It was adopted by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Army Air Service) and served through the period ...

s, and Fokker D.VIIs.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 04 Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918