Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 14 was a World War I "hunting group" (i.e., 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...

, 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....

. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 57 aerial victories (including five wins over enemy observation balloons) during the war. In turn, the jasta paid a price of eight killed in action, five wounded in action, and three 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...

.

History

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 14 was formed from a preceding ad hoc unit, Fokkerstaffel Falkenhausen, on 28 September 1916. It came into existence in the Armee Detachment "A" Sector. It served through war's end, before being disbanded as part of Germany's defeat.

Staffelführer

Staffelführer

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

(Commanding Officers)

1 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...

 Kreig: 28 September 1916 - 14 October 1916

2 Rudolf Berthold: 14 October 1916 - 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....

 12 August 1917

3 Leutnant 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:...

: 12 August 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...

 5 September 1917

4 Hans Werner: 5 September 1917 - 11 November 1918

Aerodromes

1 Bühl

Bühl

- Place name :* Bühl , in the district Rastatt, Germany* Bühl bei Aarberg, in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland* Sportplatz Bühl, Schaffhausen, Switzerland- See also :* Buhl * Buel...

, Saarburg

Saarburg

Saarburg is a city of the Trier-Saarburg district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany, on the banks of the Saar River in the hilly country a few kilometers upstream from the Saar's junction with the Moselle....

: 28 September 1916 - 14 October 1916

2 Marchais

Marchais, Aisne

Marchais is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France....

, France: 14 October 1916 - 27 April 1917

3 La Neuville

La Neuville

La Neuville may refer to the following communes in France:*La Neuville, Nord, in the Nord département*La Neuville-à-Maire, in the Ardennes département*La Neuville-au-Pont, in the Marne département...

: 27 April 1917 - May 1917

4 Marchais: May 1917 - 5 November 1917

5 Boncourt

Boncourt

Boncourt may refer to:*places in France:**Boncourt, Aisne, in the Aisne département**Boncourt, Eure, in the Eure département**Boncourt, Eure-et-Loir, in the Eure-et-Loir département...

: 5 November 1917 - 5 January 1918

6 Liesse: 5 January 1918 - 19 March 1918

7 Masny

Masny

-References:* *...

: 19 March 1918 - 11 April 1918

8 Phalempin

Phalempin

-References:*...

: 11 April 1918 - 3 October 1918

9 Aertrycke: 3 October 1918 - 11 November 1918

Notable members

Staffelführer Rudolph Berthold was one of Germany's leading aces of World War I, being in a tie for seventh place; he was awarded the Pour le Merite

Pour le Mérite

The 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....

, Military Order of Saint Henry, and Iron Cross

Iron Cross

The 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....

. Not far behind Berthold's 44 victories was Josef Veltjens

Josef Veltjens

Josef "Seppl" Veltjens Pour le Mérite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross was a World War I fighter ace credited with 35 victories...

, winner of 35 aerial duels, recipient of the Pour le Merite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, and Iron Cross. Paul Rothe

Paul Rothe

Vizefeldwebel Richard Paul Rothe was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.-References:...

 won an Iron Cross as the squadron's preeminent 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....

. Other squadron aces were Johannes Werner, Hans Bowski, and Herbert Boy.

Aircraft

Original equipment supplied the squadron upon its inception was seven Fokker

Fokker

Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....

 biplanes, two Fokker Eindekker monoplanes, and one Halberstadt

Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke

Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke or Halberstadt was a German aircraft manufacturer. It was formed in April 1912 as a British-German joint venture under the name German Bristol works Flugzeuggesellschaft mbH in Halberstadt. Initially the plant produced Bristol Boxkites and Bristol Prier monoplanes, but...

 biplane. Eventually, the unit would be one of only three squadrons operating independently of a wing that would be totally equipped with 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...

s. Squadron marking was a black and white band running the length of a squadron plane's fuselage.

Operations

When founded, Jasta 14 was in the Armee Detachment "A" Sector. When Germany's last great offensive kicked off on 21 March 1918, the squadron was supporting 17th Armee

17th Army (Germany)

The German Seventeenth Army was a World War II field army.-Commanding officers:* General der Infanterie Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel * Generaloberst Hermann Hoth...

. In May 1918, the unit was switched to support of 6th Armee. They were transferred to help 4th Armee in September 1918.