Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 7 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 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 ...

. The unit would score 126 aerial victories (130 claimed) during the war, at the expense of eleven killed in action, two killed in flying accidents, and twelve wounded in action.

History

On 2 June 1916, a Fokkerstaffel was founded at Martincourt; this temporary grouping was under XVI Corps of 5 Armee. It was quickly superseded on 23 August 1916, when it was designated as Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 7. A month later, on 21 September, it was activated. In Autumn 1917, Jasta 7 joined Jagdgruppe II, along with

Jasta 29 Royal Prussian ''Jagdstaffel'' 29, commonly abbreviated to ''Jasta'' 29, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The squadron would score 76 aerial vic ...

, Jasta 33, and

Jasta 35 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 35 was a World War I "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 44 aerial victories during the war, at the expen ...

. The new JG 11 supported 4 Armee, and was commanded by Otto Schmidt. In early 1918, Jasta 7 became part of Jagdgruppe Dixmuiden, along with

Jasta 16 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. History Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 16 was founded from two ''ad hoc'' predecesso ...

and Jasta 51, under command of Oberleutnant

Hans-Eberhardt Gandert General-major Hans-Eberhardt Gandert (2 September 1892 – 24 July 1947) was a German professional soldier who began his 33-year military career in 1912. He learned to fly in the early days of World War I, went on to become a flying ace credited ...

; it then moved to Rumbeke. It now became part of Jagdgruppe 6, along with Jasta 28,

Jasta 47 Royal Württemberg Jagdstaffel 47, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 47 or Jasta 47W, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Incomplete records credit the ...

, and Jasta 51; Gandert commanded the group. In May, it moved again, to Saint Marguerite. The Jasta, along with Jasta 51, remained a mainstay of JGr 6, while other squadrons were rotated in and out of the group. As the war wound down, Jasta 7 remained in JGr 6, under the command of Hauptmann Erhard Milch.

Commanding officers

* Fritz von Bronsart-Schellendorf: 23 August 1916 - 21 July 1917 * Josef Jacobs: 2 August 1917 - c. 18 November 1918

Duty stations (airfields)

* Martincourt, France: 23 August - 28 September 1916 * Bellevue Ferme, Senon, France: 28 September - 19 October 1916 * La-Jolly Ferme, Stenay, France: 20 October - 1 November 1916 * Procher, France: 2 November 1916 - 4 May 1917 *

Eswars Eswars 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 foll ...

, France: 4 May - 6 June 1917 * Thouroube, Roulers, Belgium: 6 June - 22 August 1917 * Wynghene, Belgium: 22 August - 15 September 1917 * Aertrycke, North of Torhout, Belgium: 15 September 1917 - 1 March 1918 * Rumbeke, Belgium: 1 March - 14 March 1918 *

Roulers Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

, Belgium: 14–29 March 1918 * Sainte Marguerite, Belgium: 29 March - 1 October 1918 *

Menen Menen (; french: Menin ; vls, Mêenn or ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French/Be ...

, Belgium 1 October - 11 November 1918

Personnel

Josef Jacobs lengthy service and long leadership while he accrued 43 victories made him responsible for single-handedly scoring about a third of the unit's wins. However, a number of other notable aces served in the unit, including

Friedrich Manschott Vizefeldwebel Friedrich Manschott (21 February 1893 – 16 March 1917) was a German World War I flying ace credited with 12 aerial victories.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/manschott.php Retrieved on 16 April 2010. E ...

, Paul Hüttenrauch,

Paul Billik Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, Carl Degelow, Georg Meyer, Otto Schmidt, and Olivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay.

Aircraft and operations

Jasta 7 used

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 ...

and a few Albatros D.III (these until early September 1917) when Josef Jacobs took command;

Albatros D.Va 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 Albatros ...

, Pfalz D.III and Pfalz D.IIIa were also used from late September 1917 to spring 1918,'Kobes - Thoughts and descriptions' ''Cross and Cockade International vol 29-2'' before using Fokker Triplanes and

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 ...

s as of May 1918. Earlier aircraft assigned remain unknown at this time.

References

;Bibliography * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 07 Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918