Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 3 was a fighter squadron 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 ...

. It was founded on 10 August 1916 at ''Flieger Ersatz Abteilung'' 5 in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, Germany, as one of the first wave of squadrons that formed the ''Luftstreitkräfte''. It served until the Armistice on 11 November 1918. It was credited with a minimum of 83 victories, at the cost of 16 pilots killed in action, 4 killed in accidents, 1 taken prisoner of war, and two wounded.

History

Only three weeks after its founding, Jasta 3 moved to support 2 Armee when it transferred to Vraignes, near Peronne. When it transferred to

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 ...

near

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, D ...

, it changed to control of the 6th Armee Front. Its move to

Rumbeke Rumbeke is a town in the Belgian municipality of Roeselare in the province of West Flanders. It is most known as the location of Rumbeke Castle Rumbeke Castle ( nl, Kasteel van Rumbeke) is a historical building in Rumbeke in West Flanders, Bel ...

heralded its incorporation into Jagdgruppe 15 along with

Jasta 8 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 8 was a fighter squadron of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Although the ''Jasta'' went out of existence along with its parent units shortly after the Armistice end ...

Jasta 26 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 26 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 177 verifie ...

, and

Jasta 27 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 27 (german: Königliche Preussische Jagdstaffel Nr. 27), commonly abbreviated to ''Jasta'' 27, was a "hunting group" (fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World W ...

. JG 15 was assigned to command of Hauptmann Constantin von Bentheim, and flew support for 4 Armee. After that, on 5 February 1918, Jasta 3 was reassigned to Jagdgruppe 9 along with Jasta 28 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 ...

(which lineup would change from time to time). Khoze would command both the squadron and the wing. By July 1918, Jasta 3 would be working out of Blaise for 3rd Armee Front. Its final assignment was support of the 19 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 ...
'')

* Leutnant Ewald von Mellinthin: 10 August 1916 – 12 September 1916 * Leutnant Alfred Mohr: 12 September 1916 – 1 April 1917 * Oberleutnant Herman Kohze: 1 April 1917 – 4 September 1918 * Leutnant Georg Weiner: 5 September 1918 – 11 November 1918

Duty stations (airfields)

, Germany: 10 August 1916 – 1 September 1916 * Vraignes, France: 1 September 1916 – 4 November 1916 *

Fontaine-Uterte Fontaine-Uterte is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 799 communes in the French department of Aisne. The ...

, France: 5 November 1916 – 20 March 1917 *

, France: 21 March 1917 – 11 July 1917 * Houplin, France: 12 July 1917 – 19 July 1917 *

, Belgium: 20 July 1917 – 16 September 1917 *

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: 17 September 1917 – 19 September 1917 * Rumbeke, Belgium: 20 September 1917 – 16 October 1917 * Wynghene, Belgium: 17 October 1917 – 12 March 1918 *

Briastre Briastre () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Economics In Briastre is a chemistry-factory. In the near of Briastre are agriculture farms. The Lamour Watermill The Lamour Watermill, Briastre ( ...

, France: 13 March 1918 – 23 March 1918 * Mons-en-Chaussée, France: 24 March 1918 – 10 April 1918 * Ingelmünster, Belgium: 11 April 1918 – 3 May 1918 * Rumbeke, Belgium: 4 May 1918 – 5 June 1918 *

Falvy Falvy () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Falvy is situated on the D103 road, on the banks of the river Somme, some west of Saint-Quentin. History Falvy originated as a Gaulish village. ...

, France: 6 June 1918 – 8 July 1918 * Blaise, France: 9 July 1918 – 7 September 1918 * Gross-Tanchen, Mörchingen, Germany: 8 September 1918 – 11 November 1918

Personnel

Among the aces who served in the squadron, the following are notable: *

Carl Menckhoff Carl Menckhoff (14 April 1883 – 11 January 1949) was a German First World War fighter ace. He was credited with 39 confirmed victories, the majority over opposing fighter aces. Already in his 30s when he learned to fly in February 1915, he wa ...

* Julius Schmidt *

Georg Schlenker Leutnant Georg Schlenker was a World War I flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories. The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/schlenker.php Retrieved on 12 April 2010. World War I military service Schlenker had enlisted i ...

Kurt Wissemann Kurt Wissemann was a German World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.The Aerodrome websitRetrieved 14 September 2020 Biography Born in Elberfeld, Wissemann trained as a Leutnant with ''Jastaschule 1'' (Fighter school 1) before ...

Georg Weiner General Major Georg Weiner was a German flying ace during World War I, being credited with nine aerial victories. He would continue in Germany's military service, rising to the rank of ''Generalmajor'' during World War II. Early life Georg Weine ...

Aircraft and operations

Halberstadt D.IIIs were noted as being the aircraft on hand when the unit was founded. It has also been noted as 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 ...

References