Jasta 6
Encyclopedia
History
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 6 was founded on 25 August 1916. It was one of the original units of the LuftstreitkräfteLuftstreitkräfte
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 jasta was formed from Fokkerstaffel Sivry, itself an early attempt to use the new winged weapons of fighter aircraft. On 29 September, it was assigned to 2 Armee and refurbished with Albatros D.I
Albatros D.I
|-See also:...
fighters.
When Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
formed Jagdgeschwader 1 on 24 June 1917, Jasta 6 moved to Markebecke on 2 July to join them. The squadron would remain part of the Flying Circus for the rest of the war. In June, July, and August of 1917, the jasta lost a commanding officer per month to enemy action, even as the unit moved from one hot spot to another. It also struggled with technological problems, as it needed genuine castor oil to lubricate the rotary engines of its airplanes.
Jasta 6, at the end of the war, moved back into FEA 9, Darmstadt. On 16 November 1918, they disbanded and passed into history. They had been credited with 196 confirmed aerial victories, at the cost of ten pilots killed in action
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...
, 9 wounded in action
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....
, two killed in flying
accidents, four Injured in flying accidents, and two pilots taken prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
Commanding officers
- Josef Wulff: 28 August 1916 - 1 May 1917
- Leutnant Fritz Otto BernertFritz Otto BernertOberleutnant Fritz Otto Bernert was a leading German fighter ace of World War I. He scored 27 victories despite being essentially one-armed.-Early life and service:...
: 1 May 1917 - 9 June 1917 - Oberleutnant Eduard Ritter von DostlerEduard Ritter von DostlerOberleutnant Eduard Ritter von Dostler , Pour le Mérite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Military Order of Max Joseph, Iron Cross, was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 26 victories.-Early service:...
: 24 June 1917 - KIA 21 August 1917 - Leutnant de Reserves Hans Ritter von AdamHans Ritter von AdamHans Ritter von Adam was a German flying ace in World War I, with 21 victories before being killed in action in 1917.-Background:...
: 22 August 1917 - KIA 15 November 1917 - Oberleutnant Wilhelm ReinhardWilhelm ReinhardWilhelm "Willi" Reinhard was a German pilot during World War I. Reinhard was born in Düsseldorf and became a flying ace during the war, credited with 20 victories....
: 16 November 1917 - 22 April 1918 - Leutnant de Reserves Johannes JanzenJohannes JanzenLieutenant Johannes Janzen was a World War I flying ace credited with thirteen aerial victories.-Early service:On 3 August 1914, Janzen volunteered for duty in No. 1 Leibhussaren Regiment. He was promoted to Leutnant on 24 February 1916. He transferred to aviation duty on 4 May 1916. He trained...
: 28 April 1918 - POW 9 June 1918 - Leutnant de Reserves Hans KirschsteinHans KirschsteinHans Kirschstein , winner of the Pour le Merite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, and the Iron Cross was a German lieutenant and World War I fighter ace credited with 27 aerial victories.-Early life:...
: 10 June 1918 - KIFA 16 July 1918 - Leutnant de Reserves Paul Wenzel (Acting): 19 July 1918 - WIA 11 August 1918
- Leutnant de Reserves Richard WenzlRichard WenzlLeutnant Richard Wenzl was a German World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories.Wenzl flew first for an artillery cooperation unit, FAA 236. He transferred, first to KEK Ost, then to Jasta 31 in the spring of 1917. For his first victory, he shot down a Spad on 19 April 1917. He had...
(Acting): 11 August 1918 - 1 September 1918 - Leutnant de Reserves Ulrich NeckelUlrich NeckelUlrich Neckel Pour le Mérite, Iron Cross First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 30 victories.-Early Life and Enlistment:...
: 1 September - 11 November 1918
Duty stations (airfields)
- SivrySivrySivry is a village in Burgundy.It is part of the Commune of Saisy in Saône-et-Loire département...
- JametzJametzJametz is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
- Ugny-l'ÉquipéeUgny-l'ÉquipéeUgny-l'Équipée is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated east of Amiens, on the D145 road and on the border with the département of Aisne.-Population:-External links:*...
- Aulnoye-AymeriesAulnoye-AymeriesAulnoye-Aymeries is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.Before the opening of the high-speed railway line between Brussels and Paris, it was a major railway crossing, where the lines Paris-Brussels and Calais-Lille-Thionville connected....
- Bisseghem Courtrai
- Marckebeke
- Lieu St. Armand
- BouchainBouchainBouchain is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies halfway between Cambrai and Valenciennes. Bouchain is a former part of the County of Hainaut.-Heraldry:-References:* Halesworth and Eitorf are twinned with Bouchain....
- AwoingtAwoingtAwoingt is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is south-east of the centre of Cambrai.-Heraldry:-References:*...
- LechelleLéchelle, Pas-de-CalaisLéchelle is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A very small farming village situated southeast of Arras, on the D19E road, just a few yards from the A2 autoroute.-Population:...
- HarbonnièresHarbonnièresHarbonnières is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:The commune is situated on the D337 road, some east of Amiens.-Population:-Places of interest:...
- Cappy, SommeCappy, SommeCappy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.- Geography :Cappy is situated on the D1 road, some east of Amiens, by the banks of the river Somme.- Population :- History :...
- Lomme
- GuiseGuiseGuise is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-Population:-Sights:The ruins of the medieval castle of Guise, seat of the Dukes of Guise, are located in the commune.-Miscellaneous:...
- PuisieuxPuisieux, Pas-de-CalaisPuisieux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Puisieux is situated south of Arras, at the junction of the D919, D27 and D6 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:...
- Begneux
- Monthussart Ferme
- Puisieux
- EnnemainEnnemainEnnemain is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ennemain is situated on the D103 and D145 crossroads, from the banks of the river Somme, some west of Saint-Quentin.-Population:-External links:*...
- BernesBernesBernes is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Bernes is situated on the junction of the D15 and D87 roads, some northwest of Saint-Quentin.-Population:-External links:* * *...
- North of BusignyBusigny-References:*...
- Metz-FrescatyMetz-Frescaty Air BaseMetz-Frescaty Air Base is a front-line French Air Force base. The base is located approximately south-southwest of Metz ; about east of Paris....
- MarvilleMarville, MeuseMarville is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.An airbase built by NATO hosted fighter squadrons from the RCAF from 1952 to 1967.-Geography:...
- TellancourtTellancourtTellancourt is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France....
- AschaffenburgAschaffenburgAschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
: 10 November 1918 - DarmstadtDarmstadtDarmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
Personnel
Although most notable aces in the squadron rose to command at one time or another, Franz HemerFranz Hemer
Leutnant Franz Hemer was a World War I flying ace credited with 18 aerial victories.He was originally a talented concert cellist. His long curly blonde hair sparked his nickname of' Locken'....
and Kurt Küppers served in its ranks and earned honors without succeeding to the helm.
Aircraft and operations
When the squadron was formed, it had eight Fokker EindeckerFokker Eindecker
The Fokker Eindecker was a German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker. Developed in April 1915, the Eindecker was the first purpose-built German fighter aircraft and the first aircraft to be fitted with synchronizer gear, enabling the pilot...
s, mostly Fokker E.IV
Fokker E.IV
|-See also:...
s, which it used for its first month of operations. It added Albatros D.Is on strength in September 1916, and had at least one Fokker D.V
Fokker D.V
-Bibliography:* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-93385-271-1* Leaman, Paul. Fokker Dr.I Triplane: A World War One Legend. Hersham, Surrey, UK: Classic Publications, 2003. ISBN 1-90322-328-8....
assigned. 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 were put into service in March 1917. By June 1917, 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 had been added to the squadron's roster, as well as Fokker Triplane
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...
s. Many of the aircraft wore a unit marking of black and white stripes on their elevators; personal insignia went on the fuselage. On the later triplanes, the engine cowling was painted scarlet and white in a petal pattern. By May 1918, the unit was re-equipped with some
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...
s. In August, it received some Fokker D.VIII
Fokker D.VIII
-See also:-References:* Weyl, A.R. Fokker: The Creative Years. 1988. ISBN 0-851778-17-8....
s, but had to withdraw them from service due to lack of castor oil to lubricate their air-cooled rotary engines.