Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 20 was a 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 ...

History

Jasta 20 was founded in the 2 Armee sector on 25 October 1916. On 24 December 1916, it suffered its first casualty. In turn, on 11 March 1917, the unit scored its first victory, courtesy of Leutnant Alfred Niederhoff. The jasta would go on to run its score to 64 confirmed victories. It would also pay a heavy price: 19 pilots killed in action, four more dying in flying accidents, eleven wounded in action, and three injured in accidents.

Commanding officers

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 ...

Fritz Heising: 25 October 1916–19 October 1917 # Leutnant

Rudolf Wendelmuth Leutnant Rudolf Wendelmuth was a World War I German flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories. Early life Rudolf Wendelmuth was born on 28 July 1890 in Gotha, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the German Empire. World War I service In the Levant At ...

: 19 October 1917–30 November 1917 #Leutnant Joachim von Busse: 30 November 1917–1 August 1918 #Leutnant von Eckartsburg (Acting): 1 August 1918–Unknown #Leutnant Waldemar von Dazur: Unknown #Leutnant Joachim von Busse: Unknown–ca 11 November 1918.

Duty stations (airfields)

#AFP 2 # Essigny-le-Petit, France #

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; pcd, Ainne) is a French department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne. In 2019, it had a population of 531,345.Artemps Artemps is a commune in the department of Aisne in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Geography Artemps is located 10 km southwest of Saint-Quentin and 7 km northeast of Ham. It can be accessed by the D32 road from Saint- ...

, France #

Guise Guise (; nl, Wieze) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The city was the birthplace of the noble family of Guise, Dukes of Guise, who later became Princes of Joinville. Population Sights The remains ...

, France # Montkerke #

Varsenare Varsenare is a town in Jabbeke, part of Flanders and Belgium. Its postal code is 8490. See also *West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size ...

, Belgium #

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 # Rumbeke, Belgium #

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

Notable personnel

In its short existence, the Jasta had a couple of notable aces serve in it besides Wendelmuth, such as

Karl Plauth Leutnant Karl Plauth was a German World War I flying ace credited with 17 aerial victories. He would crash a Junkers A 32 to his death on a test flight. Biography See also Aerial victory standards of World War I Karl Plauth was born on 27 August ...

and

Friedrich Mallincrodt Leutnant Friedrich von Mallinckrodt (15 August 1894 – 2 August 1941) was a German World War I test pilot and flying ace credited with six aerial victories. Biography Early life Friedrich von Mallinckrodt was born on 15 August 1894 in Essen, the ...

. Other aces also served with it, including

Raven Freiherr von Barnekow Leutnant Raven Erik Freiherr von Barnekow (10 March 1897 – 8 December 1941) was a German World War I flying ace credited with eleven aerial victories. Postwar, he emigrated to the United States and became romantically involved with movie star ...

, Johannes Gildemeister, Alfred Niederhoff, Otto Creutzmann, Wilhelm Schwartz, Hermann Stutz, Hans Viebig, and Georg Weiner.

Aircraft and operations

Aircraft operated are unknown at this time. Although the Jasta was founded in 2 Armee territory, they were moved on 1 January 1917 to support of 6 Armee. On 27 May 1917, they switched to supporting 4 Armee. On 8 December, the squadron was reassigned to support 17 Armee. They remained in this duty until 8 April 1918, when they were transferred back to 4 Armee.

References

20 Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 {{wwi-air