Jagdstaffel 29
Encyclopedia
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 29, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 29, was a World War I "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the Luftstreitkräfte
, which was the forerunner of the Luftwaffe
. The unit would score 76 aerial victories during the war, at the expense of 13 killed in action, two killed in flying accidents, 12 wounded in action, one injured in a flying accident and one taken prisoner.
2 Leutnant Ludwig Dornheim: transferred from Jasta 5 on 5 February 1917 - KIA
on 29 April 1917
3 Leutnant Kurt Wolff
: transferred from Jasta 11
on 6 May 1917 - 2 July 1917
4 Leutnant Erwin Böhme
: 2 July 1917 - 18 August 1917
5 Oberleutnant Otto Schmidt
(WIA): transferred from Jasta 32 on 19 August 1917 - WIA
on 18 October 1917
6 Oberleutnant Harald Auffarth
: transferred from Jasta 18 on 19 October 1917 - promoted to command Jagdgruppe 3 on 28 September 1918
7 Leutnant Hans Holthusen: transferred from Jasta 30 on 28 September 1918 - to the end of the war on 11 November 1918
, France: 15 February 1917 - 21 June 1917
2 Mons-en-Pevelle: 22 June 1917 - 27 June 1917
3 Bersée
, France 28 June 1917 - 17 July 1917
4 Handzaeme: 18 July 1917 - 31 July 1918
5 Thourout: 1 August 1917 - 13 September 1917
6 Aertrycke: 14 September 1917 - 27 November 1917
7 Émerchicourt
, France: 28 November 1917 - 13 December 1917
8 Bellincamps: 14 December 1917 - 30 March 1918
9 Phalempin
, France: 31 March 1918 - 12 April 1918
10 Gondecourt
, France: 13 April 1918 - 17 August 1918
11 Bellincamps: 18 August 1918 - 28 September 1918
12 Kruishoutem
, Belgium: 29 September 1918 - 5 October 1918
13 Aertrycke: 6 October 1918 - 11 November 1918
on 15 February 1917 in support of 3rd Armee.The jasta shifted its base of operations on or about 16 April, to support the 1st Armee. On 22 June 1917, Jasta 29 moved to the 6th Armee front. On 28 November, it was reposted to operate with the 2nd Armee. On 14 December, the squadron moved again, to support the 6th Armee once more.
On 8 August 1918, Jasta 29 once again supported the 2nd Armee at Peronne. The air unit moved to support 4th Armee on 30 September for its final operational tasking.
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 of 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 76 aerial victories during the war, at the expense of 13 killed in action, two killed in flying accidents, 12 wounded in action, one injured in a flying accident and one taken prisoner.
History
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 29 was formed on 28 December 1916 at the FEA 5 training facility at Hannover in Germany. It would not score its first victory until 16 March 1917, when Wilhelm Allmenröder incinerated an enemy observation balloon. The fledgling squadron would be blooded just under a month later, suffering its first casualty on 11 April 1917. Jasta 29 would serve to the war's end.Staffelführers (Commanding Officers)
1 Hauptmann Hermann Palmer: 31 January 1917 - 5 February 19172 Leutnant Ludwig Dornheim: transferred from Jasta 5 on 5 February 1917 - KIA
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
on 29 April 1917
3 Leutnant Kurt Wolff
Kurt Wolff (aviator)
Oberleutnant Kurt Wolff was one of Imperial Germany's highest scoring fighter aces during World War I. After achieving 33 confirmed victories, he was killed in action at the age of 22.-Early life:...
: transferred from Jasta 11
Jasta 11
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 was founded on 28 September 1916 from elements of 4 armee's Keks 1, 2 and 3 and mobilized on 11 October as part of the German Air Service's expansion program, forming permanent specialised fighter squadrons, or "Jastas"...
on 6 May 1917 - 2 July 1917
4 Leutnant Erwin Böhme
Erwin Böhme
Erwin Böhme , Pour le Mérite, was a German pilot during World War I. He was born in Holzminden, grew into an athletic sportsman, and became a flying ace during the war credited with 24 victories. He was a both a close friend and a military subordinate of Oswald Boelcke and was inadvertently...
: 2 July 1917 - 18 August 1917
5 Oberleutnant Otto Schmidt
Otto Schmidt (aviator)
Oberleutnant Otto Schmidt was a World War I fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories, including eight against enemy observation balloons. He commanded three different jagdstaffeln as well as a jagdgeschwader ....
(WIA): transferred from Jasta 32 on 19 August 1917 - WIA
Wounded in action
Wounded in action describes soldiers who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during war time, but have not been killed. Typically it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing to fight....
on 18 October 1917
6 Oberleutnant Harald Auffarth
Harald Auffarth
Eduard Florus Harald Auffarth Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, Silver Wound Badge, Hanseatic Cross, was a World War I German fighter ace credited with 29 victories...
: transferred from Jasta 18 on 19 October 1917 - promoted to command Jagdgruppe 3 on 28 September 1918
7 Leutnant Hans Holthusen: transferred from Jasta 30 on 28 September 1918 - to the end of the war on 11 November 1918
Aerodromes
1 JunivilleJuniville
Juniville is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Champagne-Ardenne region in northern France.-Population:-Personalities:* The poet Paul Verlaine rented a room in Juniville in the 1880s, close to the farm where his pupil Lucien Létinois lived. The village inn has been restored and turned...
, France: 15 February 1917 - 21 June 1917
2 Mons-en-Pevelle: 22 June 1917 - 27 June 1917
3 Bersée
Bersée
Bersée is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.-Heraldry:-References:*...
, France 28 June 1917 - 17 July 1917
4 Handzaeme: 18 July 1917 - 31 July 1918
5 Thourout: 1 August 1917 - 13 September 1917
6 Aertrycke: 14 September 1917 - 27 November 1917
7 Émerchicourt
Émerchicourt
-References:*...
, France: 28 November 1917 - 13 December 1917
8 Bellincamps: 14 December 1917 - 30 March 1918
9 Phalempin
Phalempin
-References:*...
, France: 31 March 1918 - 12 April 1918
10 Gondecourt
Gondecourt
-References:*...
, France: 13 April 1918 - 17 August 1918
11 Bellincamps: 18 August 1918 - 28 September 1918
12 Kruishoutem
Kruishoutem
Kruishoutem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Kruishoutem proper, Nokere and Wannegem-Lede. On January 1, 2006 Kruishoutem had a total population of 8,130. The total area is 46.76 km² which gives a population density of...
, Belgium: 29 September 1918 - 5 October 1918
13 Aertrycke: 6 October 1918 - 11 November 1918
Notable members
- Kurt WolffKurt WolffKurt Wolff was a German publisher, editor, writer and journalist.Wolff was born in Bonn, Rhenish Prussia. Together with Ernst Rowohlt he began to work in publishing in Leipzig in 1908. He was the first to promote and publish the authors Franz Kafka and Franz Werfel...
, Pour le MeritePour le MériteThe Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
- Erwin BöhmeErwin BöhmeErwin Böhme , Pour le Mérite, was a German pilot during World War I. He was born in Holzminden, grew into an athletic sportsman, and became a flying ace during the war credited with 24 victories. He was a both a close friend and a military subordinate of Oswald Boelcke and was inadvertently...
, Pour le MeritePour le MériteThe Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
- Harald AuffarthHarald AuffarthEduard Florus Harald Auffarth Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, Silver Wound Badge, Hanseatic Cross, was a World War I German fighter ace credited with 29 victories...
, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
, Silver Wound BadgeWound BadgeWound Badge was a German military award for wounded or frost-bitten soldiers of Imperial German Army in World War I, the Reichswehr between the wars, and the Wehrmacht, SS and the auxiliary service organizations during the Second World War. After March 1943, due to the increasing number of Allied...
- Otto SchmidtOtto SchmidtOtto Yulyevich Schmidt was a Soviet scientist, mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist, statesman, academician, Hero of the USSR , and member of the Communist Party.-Biography:He was born in Mogilev, Russian Empire...
, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
- August BurkardAugust BurkardLeutnant August Burkard was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.-References:...
, Iron Cross
- Karl Pech
- Fritz Kieckhäfer
- Siegfried Westphal
- Günther Schuster
- Eugen Siempelkamp
- Theodor Dahlmann
- Karl GallwitzKarl GallwitzLeutnant Karl Gallwitz was a World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.Gallwitz originally flew a Roland D.III for artillery cooperation units on the Russian Front, shooting down two observation balloons with FA 37, before a brief assignment to Jasta 29. On 24 August 1917, he joined...
, Iron Cross
- Josef Hohly
- Max Kuhne
- Werner VossWerner VossWerner Voss was a World War I German flying ace, a friend and rival of the famous Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen....
Operations
Jasta 29 began operations at JunivilleJuniville
Juniville is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Champagne-Ardenne region in northern France.-Population:-Personalities:* The poet Paul Verlaine rented a room in Juniville in the 1880s, close to the farm where his pupil Lucien Létinois lived. The village inn has been restored and turned...
on 15 February 1917 in support of 3rd Armee.The jasta shifted its base of operations on or about 16 April, to support the 1st Armee. On 22 June 1917, Jasta 29 moved to the 6th Armee front. On 28 November, it was reposted to operate with the 2nd Armee. On 14 December, the squadron moved again, to support the 6th Armee once more.
On 8 August 1918, Jasta 29 once again supported the 2nd Armee at Peronne. The air unit moved to support 4th Armee on 30 September for its final operational tasking.