Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 1 (commonly abbreviated as Jasta 1) was a fighter squadron of the Luftstreitkräfte

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...

, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Jasta 1 was founded on 22 August 1916, using single seat fighters drawn from First Army. It was one of the first wave of dedicated fighter squadrons founded as a result of Oswald Boelcke

Oswald Boelcke

Oswald Boelcke was a German flying ace of the First World War and one of the most influential patrol leaders and tacticians of the early years of air combat. Boelcke is considered the father of the German fighter air force, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics"; he was the first to...

's espousal of massing fighter air power. Leopold Reimann scored the first of its 138 aerial victories two days later. It served on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

 until September 1917, transferred directly to the Italian Front

Italian Campaign (World War I)

The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...

 to serve until March 1918, then returned to France for the rest of the war.

Aircraft

Jasta 1 was originally equipped with a melange of aircraft, including Fokker D.I

Fokker D.I

|-See also:-Bibliography:*Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft since the First World War. London:Putnam, 1962.*Green William and Swanborough, Gordon. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8....

s, Albatros D.II

Albatros D.II

|-See also:...

 fighters, at least one Albatros D.I

Albatros D.I

|-See also:...

, a Fokker E.IV

Fokker E.IV

|-See also:...

, a captured Nieuport 16, 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 Halberstadt D.IIIs.

Commanding officers

Its eight Staffelführer

Staffelführer

Staffelführer was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German Schutzstaffel in the early years of that group’s existence...

s included Hauptmann

Hauptmann

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...

 Martin Zander

Martin Zander

Hauptmann Martin Zander was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.-References:...

, Oberleutnant

Oberleutnant

Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...

 Erich Hahn

Erich Hahn

Oberleutnant Erich Hahn was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.-Reference:...

, Oberleutnant Hans Kummetz

Hans Kummetz

Oberleutnant Hans Kummertz was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.-Reference:...

 (on two occasions), Otto Deindl, Armbrecht (twice), Walter Korte, Bruno von Voight, and Rittmeister

Rittmeister

Rotamaster was the military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in charge of a squadron , the equivalent of O3 or Captain, in the German-speaking armies, Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian and some other states.The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different...

 Kurt-Bertram von Döring

Kurt-Bertram von Döring

Generalleutnant Kurt-Bertram von Döring was a German World War II Luftwaffe Generalleutnant...

.

Personnel

Besides the experienced pilots transferred in from Abwehr Kommando Nord/Kampfeinsitzerstaffel B, other two-seater pilots under 1. Armee were also posted to the fledgling unit.

Among the 18 aces in the World War I ranks were Hans von Keudell

Hans von Keudell

Leutnant Hans von Keudell was a World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories.-Early life and service:Keudell was educated in Berlin. In 1904, he joined the cadets at Bensberg. In 1911, he joined the Uhlans. He began World War I with the Uhlans, and went into combat with them in both...

, Kurt Wintgens

Kurt Wintgens

Leutnant Kurt Wintgens was a German World War I fighter ace. He was the first military fighter pilot to score a victory over an opposing aircraft in an aircraft armed with a synchronized machine gun. Wintgens was the recipient of the Iron Cross and the Blue Max.-Background:Wintgens was born into a...

, balloon buster

Balloon buster

Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness. Seventy-six fighter pilots in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces....

 Hans von Freden

Hans von Freden

Leutnant Hans von Freden was a World War I flying ace credited with 20 aerial victories.Freden began his string of aerial victories while assigned to Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 1. He shot down an observation balloon at Spresiano on 29 January 1918. He furthered his career as a balloon buster by...

, Gustav Leffers

Gustav Leffers

Gustav Leffers was a German flying ace in World War I, credited with 9 victories.-Background:Leffers was born in Wilhelmshaven, the son of a naval engineer. He was educated in Wilhelmshaven and Stettin and went on to join the Holland America Line as an engineer candidate...

, Walter Höhndorf

Walter Höhndorf

Leutnant Walter Höhndorf was a pioneer aviator, test pilot, airplane designer and constructor, and fighter ace during World War I. He was credited with twelve aerial victories.-Early life:...

, and Leopold Reimann

Leopold Reimann

Offizierstellvertreter Leopold Rudolf Reimann was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.-References:...

. The squadron's casualties for the war were twelve killed in action, one killed in a flying accident, four wounded in action, and one captured.

Claims and victories

Kurt Wintgens

Kurt Wintgens

Leutnant Kurt Wintgens was a German World War I fighter ace. He was the first military fighter pilot to score a victory over an opposing aircraft in an aircraft armed with a synchronized machine gun. Wintgens was the recipient of the Iron Cross and the Blue Max.-Background:Wintgens was born into a...

 was Jasta 1's first ace, having claimed 13 kills while flying the Fokker Eindecker before joining the unit. He claimed 6 more before being downed and killed by Alfred Heurtaux

Alfred Heurtaux

Alfred Marie-Joseph Heurtaux was a French World War I fighter ace credited with 21 victories. Later in his life, he joined the French Resistance during World War II, and survived imprisonment in Buchenwald death camp to become a brigadier general in the post war Armée de l'Air.-Early military...

 of Escadrille N.3 in September 1916.

Vfw. Paul Bona claimed six victories December 1916-May 1917. He was killed in a crash in June 1917. Oberleutnant Hans Kummetz

Hans Kummetz

Oberleutnant Hans Kummertz was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.-Reference:...

achieved 7 claims in a year of command before being killed in combat with Camels of No. 45 Squadron in Italy early in 1918.

The squadron claimed 138 victories, with 107 of those confirmed.