History
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 5, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 5, was created on January 21, 1916,
and mobilized on 21 August 1916, as one of the first fighter units of the ''
Luftstreitkräfte
The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...
'', 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
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Many of the first pilots of the Jasta came out of KEK Avillers, itself an early attempt to organize and utilize fighter planes as winged weapons. ''Jasta 5'' began its service career at Bechamp near Verdun, in support of
5 Armee. On 29 September 1916, it moved to the Somme to the
1 Armee area of operations. On 11 March 1917, Jasta 5 moved into Boistrancourt; it spent the next year operating from there, in support of the
2 Armee. In March 1918, the Jasta was joined by
Jasta 46
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 46 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 20 confirme ...
thus forming the beginning of Jagdgruppe 2; the new JG was commanded by Flashar, along with his command of the Jasta. In July, command passed to Otto Schmidt; in August, it was joined in the JG by
Jasta 34
Royal Bavarian ''Jagdstaffel'' 34, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 34, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 89 confirmed aerial ...
and
Jasta 37
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 37, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 37, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score over 70 aerial victories ...
. With approximately 253 victories at war's end, Jasta 5 had the third-highest victory total of any squadron in the ''Luftstreitkräfte''. Its casualties came to 19 pilots killed in action, 3 killed in flying accidents, 8 wounded in action, and 1 injured in an accident.
Commanding officers
*
Hans Berr
''Oberleutnant'' Hans Berr (20 May 1890–6 April 1917) was a German professional soldier and World War I flying ace. At the start of the First World War, he served in a scout regiment until severely wounded; he then transferred to aviation duty. ...
: 21 August 1916 – 2 January 1917
* Ludwig Dornheim: 2 January 1917 – 5 February 1917
* Hans Berr: 5 February 1917 – 6 April 1917
* Hans von Hünerbein: 7 April 1917 – 4 May 1917
*
Kurt Schneider
Kurt Schneider (7 January 1887 – 27 October 1967) was a German psychiatrist known largely for his writing on the diagnosis and understanding of schizophrenia, as well as personality disorders then known as psychopathic personalities.
Bi ...
: 6 May 1917 – 5 June 1917
* Richard Flashar: 10 June 1917 – 31 December 1917
* Wilhelm Lehmann: 31 December 1917 – 14 January 1918
* Richard Flashar: 14 January 1918 – 12 May 1918
* Wilhelm Lehmann: 12 May 1918 – 26 June 1918
*
Otto Schmidt
Otto Yulyevich Shmidt, be, Ота Юльевіч Шміт, Ota Juljevič Šmit (born Otto Friedrich Julius Schmidt; – 7 September 1956), better known as Otto Schmidt, was a Soviet scientist, mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist, statesm ...
: 3 July 1918 – 11 November 1918
Duty stations (airfields)
* Bechamp: 21 August 1916 – 25 September 1916
* Bellevue Ferme, Senon: 26 September 1916 – 29 September 1916
*
Gonnelieu
Gonnelieu () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
History
During World War I, the town was captured by the German Empire during the Battle of Cambrai in 1917.
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The foll ...
: 30 September 1916 – 10 March 1917
* Boistrancourt: 11 March 1917 – 25 March 1918
*
Lieramont: 25 March 1918 – 23 April 1918
*
Cappy-sur-Somme: 23 April 1918 – 27 July 1918
*
Moislains
Moislains () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
Moislains is situated on the D184 and D43 crossroads, some northwest of Saint-Quentin.
Population
Personalities
Ferdinand Carré
Ferdinan ...
: 27 July 1918 – 24 August 1918
*
Nurlu: 24 August 1918 – 30 September 1918
* Neuville: 30 September 1918 – 7 October 1918
*
Escarmain
Escarmain 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 the ...
by Capelle: 7 October 1918 – 10 October 1918
*
Villers-Sire-Nicole
Villers-Sire-Nicole 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 coopera ...
: 10 October 1918 – 11 November 1918
Personnel
![Bundesarchiv Bild 104-0797, Verwundeter Pilot, Flugzeug Albatros](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Bundesarchiv_Bild_104-0797%2C_Verwundeter_Pilot%2C_Flugzeug_Albatros.jpg)
There were several notable pilots and
flying aces
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
who served and scored with Jasta 5. Pilots earning Prussia's highest decoration for valor, the ''Pour le Mèrite'' ("Blue Max") who served at one time or another in Jasta 5 included (alphabetically):
*
Paul Bäumer
:''This article deals with Paul Bäumer the pilot. For the fictional Paul Bäumer, see All Quiet on the Western Front. For the late member of electronic music group Bingo Players, see Bingo Players''
Paul Wilhelm Bäumer (11 May 1896 – 15 Jul ...
*
Hans Berr
''Oberleutnant'' Hans Berr (20 May 1890–6 April 1917) was a German professional soldier and World War I flying ace. At the start of the First World War, he served in a scout regiment until severely wounded; he then transferred to aviation duty. ...
*
Heinrich Gontermann
Heinrich Gontermann (25 February 1896 – 30 October 1917) was a German fighter ace credited with 39 victories during the First World War.
Early life
Born in Siegen, Southern Westphalia, on 25 February 1896,''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter ...
*
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
*
Otto Könnecke
''Leutnant'' (later Lieutenant Colonel) Otto Könnecke (20 December 1892 – 25 January 1956) PLM, MMC, HoH, IC, was a leading German fighter ace of World War I with 35 victories. He was one of only five pilots to receive Germany's highest deco ...
*
Bruno Loerzer
Bruno Loerzer (22 January 1891 – 23 August 1960) was a German air force officer during World War I and World War II. Credited with 44 aerial victories during World War I, he was one of Germany's leading flying aces, as well as commander of o ...
*
Fritz Rumey
Leutnant Fritz Rumey (3 March 1891 – 27 September 1918) ''Pour le Mérite'', Golden Military Merit Cross was a German fighter pilot in the First World War, credited with 45 victories. He was one of only five German soldiers who won both of ...
*
Werner Voss
Werner Voss (; 13 April 1897 – 23 September 1917) was a World War I German flying ace credited with 48 aerial victories. A dyer's son from Krefeld, he was a patriotic young man while still in school. He began his military career in Novem ...
Könnecke and Rumey were two of the three members of the "golden triumvirate", who were responsible for 40% of the total victories of the Jasta. The third member of the triumvirate not listed is
Josef Mai
Major Josef Mai (3 March 1887 – 18 January 1982) Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter pilot credited with 30 victories.
Early life
Josef Mai was born in Ottorowo, Province of Posen. His original military service began on ...
, who although nominated and eligible for the award, was not officially awarded the ''Pour le Mèrite'' prior to the end of hostilities.
One member of Jasta 5 was rocket expert
Rudolf Nebel
Rudolf Nebel (21 March 1894 – 18 September 1978) was a spaceflight advocate active in Germany's amateur rocket group, the ''Verein für Raumschiffahrt'' (VfR – "Spaceflight Society") in the 1930s and in rebuilding German rocketry following Wor ...
.
Aircraft and operations
The squadron was originally equipped with
Fokker Eindecker
The Fokker ''Eindecker'' fighters were a series of German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker.Boyne 1988 Developed in April 1915, the first ''Eindecker'' ("Monoplane") was the first purpose- ...
s. It progressed to use of
Albatros D.II
The Albatros D.II was a German fighter aircraft used during World War I. After a successful combat career in the early '' Jagdstaffeln'', it was gradually superseded by the Albatros D.III.
Design and development
Albatros designers Robert Thelen ...
s and
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 ...
s. In 1917, it was using
Albatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service (''Luftstreitkräfte'') during World War I. A modified licence model was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ( ''Luftfahrtruppen''). T ...
s 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 ...
s. In 1918, it used both the
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII qu ...
and the
Fokker Triplane
The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...
. At one time, the ''Jasta'' was one of only three squadrons not belonging to a ''Jagdgeschwader'' (fighter wing) that was totally equipped with the Triplane. It also reputedly operated the
Pfalz D.XII
The Pfalz D.XII was a German fighter aircraft built by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Designed by Rudolph Gehringer as a successor to the Pfalz D.III, the D.XII entered service in significant numbers near the end of the First World War. It was the last P ...
,
which entered service in July 1918.
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
05
Military units and formations established in 1916
1916 establishments in Germany
Military units and formations disestablished in 1918
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