Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 81, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 81, 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 squadron would score six or more aerial victories during July/August 1917, while serving on the Eastern Front. After switching to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, Jasta 81 would score another 35 victories from May 1918 to war's end. The unit's victories came at the expense of five killed in action, three killed in flying accidents, one injured in a flying accident, three wounded in action, and three taken prisoner of war.

History

Jasta 81 originated in ''Jagdflieger Ober-Ost'', which was founded at

Brest-Litovsk Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

on 16 June 1917. It was intended for service on the Eastern Front. In August 1917, it was assigned to '' 8 Armee''. In early May 1918, it was incorporated into '' Jagdgruppe 5''. On 30 May 1918, it was revamped as Jasta 81. At this time, the squadron was posted to '' 7 Armee'' on the

in France. On 27 June 1918, it was switched over to '' Jagdgruppe 4''; in late July, it would return to JG 5. In late September 1918, the Jasta would be assigned to '' 3 Armee''.

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 ...
'')

* Josef Wulf * Herbert Knappe: 7 April 1918 - 25 August 1918 * Fritz Höhn: c. 25 August 1918 - 9 September 1918 * Wilhelm Pritsch: 9 September 1918

Duty stations

* Kniaze: July 1917 *

Mitau Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also #Name, other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the unit ...

(present day Latvia): August 1917 * Boncourt, France *

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 ...

, France *

Séranvillers Séranvillers is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France, merged in 1964 with Forenville to create Séranvillers-Forenville Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of ...

, France: August 1918 * Leffincourt, France: Late September 1918 * Two successive unknown locations * Saint-Gerard-Maison: 26 October 1918 - November 1918

Notable personnel

* Dietrich Averes *

Alfons Nagler Vizefeldwebel Alfons Nagler, also Alfons Nagler, (born 4 August 1893, date of death unknown) was a World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/nagler.php Retrieved on 19 A ...

Aircraft

In late 1917, Jasta 81 was supplied with

LFG Roland D.II The LFG Roland D.II was a German single-seat fighter of World War I. The type was manufactured by Luftfahrzeug Gesellschaft, and also by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke under license. Design and development The D.II used a plywood monocoque fuselage. Two l ...

fighters.

References