Jagdstaffel 15
Encyclopedia
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 15, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 15, was a World War I "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the Luftstreitkräfte
, which was the forerunner to the Luftwaffe
. The unit would score over 150 aerial victories during the war, at the expense of seven killed in action, two killed in flying accidents, three wounded in action, one injured in a flying accident, and two taken prisoner of war.
under Adolf Tutschek
at Autremencourt
in February 1918. On 19 March 1918, Rudolf Berthold took command of JG 2 when Tutschek was killed; he arranged a swap of Jasta 15's personnel with those of Jasta 18, so that Berthold could continue to command those with whom he was familiar. The squadron demobilized in November 1918 at FEA 14 in Halle an der Saale, Germany.
s of the jasta:
s. In 1917, it operated Albatros D.III
s and Albatros D.V
s. It then used Fokker Dr.I
triplanes and some Siemens-Schuckert D.III
s. Their final mount was the Fokker D.VII
. By summer 1918, the jasta's aircraft markings had settled to royal blue fuselage and tail, brown rudders, and red noses extending back as far as the cockpit.
Luftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
, which was the forerunner to the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. The unit would score over 150 aerial victories during the war, at the expense of seven killed in action, two killed in flying accidents, three wounded in action, one injured in a flying accident, and two taken prisoner of war.
History
The "jasta" was formed on 28 September 1916 at Bixhiem, from Kampfeinsitzer Kommando Habsheim, FFA 48 and FFA 68. It mobilized on 9 October 1916. It became part of Jagdgeschwader 2Jagdgeschwader 2
Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" was a World War II Luftwaffe wing. It was named after World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen.-History:...
under Adolf Tutschek
Adolf Ritter von Tutschek
Adolf, Ritter von Tutschek Pour le Mérite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, Military Order of Max Joseph, was a professional soldier turned aviator who became a leading fighter ace with 27 victories...
at Autremencourt
Autremencourt
Autremencourt is a commune in the department of Aisne in Picardy in northern France.-Population:...
in February 1918. On 19 March 1918, Rudolf Berthold took command of JG 2 when Tutschek was killed; he arranged a swap of Jasta 15's personnel with those of Jasta 18, so that Berthold could continue to command those with whom he was familiar. The squadron demobilized in November 1918 at FEA 14 in Halle an der Saale, Germany.
Commanding officers
The following were the StaffelführerStaffelführer
Staffelführer was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German Schutzstaffel in the early years of that group’s existence...
s of the jasta:
- Oberleutnant Herman Kropp: 28 September 1916 - November 1916
- Oberleutnant Max Reinhold: 9 November 1916 -- KIA 26 April 1917
- Leutnant Heinrich GontermannHeinrich GontermannHeinrich Gontermann was a German First World War fighter ace credited with 39 victories during the war.- Early life :...
: 26 April 1917 -- KIFA 30 October 1917 - Leutnant Hans Hermann von Budde: 30 October 1917 -- 14 March 1918
- Leutnant August Raben: 14 March 1918 -- 20 March 1918
- Oberleutnant Ernst Turck: 20 March 1918 -- 18 May 1918
- Leutnant Josef VeltjensJosef VeltjensJosef "Seppl" Veltjens Pour le Mérite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross was a World War I fighter ace credited with 35 victories...
(Acting): 18 May 1918 -- 13 August 1918 - Leutnant Olivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-MarconnayOlivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-MarconnayLeutnant Olivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay was a German World War I ace fighter pilot credited with 25 victories. He is notable for being World War I's youngest recipient of Germany's highest decoration for military valor, the Pour le Merite.-Early life and service:Olivier Freiherr von...
: 13 August 1918 - 22 August 1918 - Leutnant Josef Veltjens: 22 August 1918 -- 11 November 1918
1918
Jasta used over a dozen airfields in support of 18 Armee, then moved to fly support of 5th Armee.Personnel
A number of notable aces served in the unit during its brief existence, including the following:- Georg von HantelmannGeorg von HantelmannLeutnant Georg von Hantelmann was a German fighter ace credited with winning 25 victories during World War I. It was notable that these victories included three opposing aces shot down within the same week....
- Johannes KleinJohannes KleinLeutnant Johannes Klein was a World War I flying ace credited with 16 confirmed and two unconfirmed aerial victories.He became a fighter pilot in February 1917, and received his initial assignment to either Royal Prussian Jasta 27 or Royal Prussian Jasta 29...
- Olivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-MarconnayOlivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-MarconnayLeutnant Olivier Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay was a German World War I ace fighter pilot credited with 25 victories. He is notable for being World War I's youngest recipient of Germany's highest decoration for military valor, the Pour le Merite.-Early life and service:Olivier Freiherr von...
- Gustav KlaudatGustav KlaudatVizefeldwebel Gustav Klaudat was a German World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.-Reference:...
- Heinrich ArntzenHeinrich ArntzenLeutnant Heinrich Arntzen was a World War I flying ace credited with eleven aerial victories....
- Ernst UdetErnst UdetColonel General Ernst Udet was the second-highest scoring German flying ace of World War I. He was one of the youngest aces and was the highest scoring German ace to survive the war . His 62 victories were second only to Manfred von Richthofen, his commander in the Flying Circus...
- Hans MüllerHans MüllerHans Müller was an Austrian chess player, theoretician and author of books.In 1921, he played in Vienna; tied for 9-10th , tied for 1st-2nd with Gruber, and took 6th . In 1922, he tied for 4-5th in Innsbruck...
- Arthur RahnArthur RahnLeutnant Arthur Rahn was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.-Reference:...
Aircraft and operations
The unit was founded with Fokker D.IIs and Fokker D.IIIFokker D.III
-Bibliography:* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-93385-271-1*Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8....
s. In 1917, it operated Albatros D.III
Albatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
s and Albatros D.V
Albatros D.V
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Bennett, Leon. Gunning for the Red Baron. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58544-507-X....
s. It then used Fokker Dr.I
Fokker Dr.I
The Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918...
triplanes and some Siemens-Schuckert D.III
Siemens-Schuckert D.III
-Bibliography:* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-93385-271-1.* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. London: Salamander Books, 1994. ISBN 0-83173-939-8....
s. Their final mount was the Fokker D.VII
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 summer and autumn of 1918. In service, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft...
. By summer 1918, the jasta's aircraft markings had settled to royal blue fuselage and tail, brown rudders, and red noses extending back as far as the cockpit.