Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 23 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...

'', the air arm of the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score a minimum of 63 verified aerial victories. They scored twelve wins over enemy observation balloons as a squadron. In turn, their casualties for the war would amount to 14 pilots

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

, one killed in a flying accident, nine

wounded in action Wounded in action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

, and two taken

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

History

Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 23 was established on 25 October 1916 at Metz-Frescaty. It would not gain a commanding officer until 17 November. The jagdstaffel finally came ready for action on the last day of the year. The following day, 1 January 1917, Jasta 23 moved into action at Puxieux. It would not score its first win until 14 February. On 4 July 1917, it was officially designated a Bavarian squadron. It joined the Bavarian

Jagdgeschwader IV Jagdgeschwader were the series of fighter wings of initially, the German Empire's ''Luftstreitkräfte'' air arm of the ''Deutsches Heer'', then the successor fighter wings of the Third Reich's original ''Luftwaffe'' air arm of its combined Wehrmach ...

under command of

Eduard Ritter von Schleich Eduard-Maria Joseph Ritter von Schleich (9 August 1888 – 15 November 1947), born Schleich, was a high scoring Bavarian flying ace of the First World War. He was credited with 35 aerial victories at the end of the war. During the Second World ...

on 10 October 1918, and served there for the last month of the war.

Commanding officers (''
Staffelführer ''Staffelführer'' (, " Formation leader") was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in the early years of that group's existence. The later SS rank of ''Staffelführer'' traces its origins to the First ...
'')

# Paul Backhaus, 17 November 1916 – 4 August 1917 #

Otto Kissenberth Otto Kissenberth (26 February 1893 – 2 August 1919) was a German flying ace of World War I credited with 20 aerial victories. He was a prewar mechanical engineer who joined the German air service in 1914. After being trained and after servin ...

, 4 August 1917 – 29 May 1918 # Heinrich Seywald, 2 June 1918 – 29 June 1918 # Fritz Krautheim, 2 July 1918 – 19 July 1918 # Heinrich Seywald, 19 July 1918 – 11 November 1918

Aerodromes

# '' Armee-Abteilung Strantz'': 25 October 1916 – 1 January 1917 # Puxieux, Mars-la-Tour: 1 January 1917 – 14 April 1917 #

Erlon Erlon () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 796 communes in the French department of Aisne. The commune ...

, France: 16 April 1917 – 14 July 1917 #

Jametz Jametz () is a small commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, near the Belgian border. Economy Since the 15th century, residents have primarily worked as cattle farmers, cheesemakers, carpenters and leatherwo ...

, France: 20 July 1917 – 24 November 1917 # Saint-Mard, France: 24 November 1917 – 4 February 1918 #

Aniche Aniche (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, département in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. The commune, located in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais mining area, long lived on t ...

: 6 February 1918 – 16 March 1918 #

Émerchicourt Émerchicourt () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes coop ...

, France: 17 March 1918 – 27 March 1918 #

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of northern France. Geography Bapaume is a farming and light indus ...

, France: 27 March 1918 – 18 April 1918 # Epinoy, France: 18 April 1918 – 27 August 1918 #

Lieu-Saint-Amand Lieu-Saint-Amand () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is the home of the Sevel Nord facility, an automobile factory which builds Fiat, Peugeot and Citroën vehicles. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department ...

: 27 August 1918 – 25 September 1918 # Bühl, Germany: 27 September 1918 – 8 October 1918 #

Harmignies Harmignies (; ) is a sub-municipality of the city of Mons located in the province of Hainaut, Wallonia, Belgium. It was a separate municipality until 1977. On 1 January 1977, it was merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transact ...

, Belgium: 13 October 1918 – 5 November 1918 # Fleurs, France: 5 November 1918 – 11 November 1918

Notable members

Pour le Merite Pour is a name which can be used as a surname and a given name: * Kour Pour (born 1987), American artist of Iranian and British descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * P ...

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

Balloon buster Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven fl ...

Friedrich Ritter von Röth ''Oberleutnant'' Friedrich Ritter von Röth (29 September 1893 – 31 December 1918) was a German World War I fighter ace with 28 victories. He was the most successful German pilot at the extremely hazardous practice of shooting down enemy ob ...

Pour le Merite, Hohenzollern, Iron Cross,

Military Order of Max Joseph The Military Order of Max Joseph () was the highest military order (decoration), order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in three classes: ...

Michael Hutterer ''Vizefeldwebel'' Michael Hutterer MMC IC was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. Hutterer began over two years in ground units on 4 August 1914. He won his native Bavaria's 3rd Class Military Merit Cross on 24 April ...

Iron Cross * Theodor Rumpel Iron Cross * Johannes Janzen

Other aces serving in the unit were Karl Schattauer, Heinrich Seywald, Albert Haussmann, Max Gossner, and Albert Dietlen.

Aircraft

Initial equipment for Jasta 23 was the

Albatros D.II The Albatros D.II was a German fighter aircraft used during World War I. After a successful combat career in the early '' Jagdstaffeln'', it was gradually superseded by the Albatros D.III. Design and development Albatros designers Robert Thel ...

fighter. Later, it would be refurnished with Pfalz D.XII and Roland D.VIa fighters.

Operations

Jasta 23 was formed in the ''Armee-Abteilung'' Strantz Sector. On 16 April 1917, it moved to the '' 7. Armee'' Sector. Its next move, on 18 July, saw it assigned to '' 5. Armee''. In February 1918, it moved to support '' 17. Armee'' at

. On 27 September, it moved to the ''Armee-Abteilung'' A Sector; shortly thereafter, on 8 October, it moved on to work for '' 2. Armee'' until war's end.

References

;Bibliography * 23 Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Military units and formations of Bavaria {{wwi-air