Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 24 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 89 verified aerial victories. In turn, their casualties for the war would amount to seven 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, ...

, two killed in crashes, five

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 one 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 Saxon Jagdstaffel 24 had somewhat of a torturous start. It was formed on 25 October 1916 and actually at its initial aerodrome at

Mörchingen Morhange (; ; Lorraine Franconian ''Märchinge'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the ...

on 20 November. Aircraft being unavailable for the new unit, five of the Jasta 24 pilots were seconded to Jasta 14, and two more sent to FFA 12 for further training.

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 ...

fighters for the new squadron arrived during December 1916; January 1917 marked its first combat patrols. First blood for the new Jasta came on 25 February 1917. Beginning on 26 June 1917, the squadron belonged successively to four different ad hoc '' Jagdgruppen'' established to increase combat power. It first belonged to Jagdgruppe 7 under

Rudolf Berthold Oskar Gustav Rudolf Berthold (24 March 1891 – 15 March 1920) was a German flying ace of World War I. Between 1916 and 1918, he shot down 44 enemy planes—16 of them while flying one-handed. In postwar Germany, Berthold organized a ''Freikor ...

, along with

Jasta 18 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 18 was a "hunting squadron" (fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. History The Jasta was formed on 30 October 1916, at Halluin under 4th Army (German ...

Jasta 31 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 31 was a World War I "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score ...

, and Jasta 36. Jasta 24 then switched to membership in Jagdgruppe 1 at Guise, joining

Jasta 8 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 8 was a fighter squadron of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Although the ''Jasta'' went out of existence along with its parent units shortly after the Armistice endi ...

Jasta 17 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 17 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 101 aerial ...

, and Jasta 48. Jastas 24 and 48 then were placed in Jagdgruppe South under Kurt Küppers. Its final parent organization was Jagdgruppe 12, where it served along with Jasta 44 and Jasta 79.

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 ...
'')

# Konstantin von Braun: 1 December 1916 – 29 June 1917 #

Heinrich Kroll ''Oberleutnant'' Henrich Claudius Kroll (3 November 1894 – 21 February 1930) Pour le Merite, Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Saxony's Albert Order Knight Second Class with Swords, Iron Cross First and Second Class, was ...

: 29 June 1917 – 17 October 1917 # Rudolf Hepp:17 October 1917 – 6 November 1917 # Heinrich Kroll: 6 November 1917 – 11 April 1918 # Rudolf Hepp: 11 April 1918 – 2 May 1918 # Heinrich Kroll: 2 May 1918 – 14 August 1918 # Unknown: 14 August 1918 – 21 August 1918 # Hasso von Wedel: 21 August 1918 – 11 November 1918

Aerodromes

: 25 October 1916 – 15 April 1917 # Annelles, France: 16 April 1917 – 11 June 1917 # Chassogne Ferme: 12 June 1917 – 26 June 1917 #

Heule Heule is a submunicipality of the city of Kortrijk in the Belgian province of West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the ...

, Belgium: 27 June 1917 – 8 September 1917 # Harlebeke: 8 September 1917 – 22 November 1917 # Emerchicourt: 23 November 1917 – 27 December 1917 #

Guise Guise ( , ; ) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The city was the birthplace of the noble family of Guise, Dukes of Guise, who later became Princes of Joinville. Population Sights The remains of t ...

: 28 December 1917 – 20 March 1918 # Pleine-Selve, France: 20 March 1918 – 27 March 1918 # Villeselve, France: 27 March 1918 – 8 April 1918 # Ercheu, France: 8 April 1918 – 11 August 1918 # Guizancourt, France: 11 August 1918 – 15 August 1918 #

Clastres Clastres () 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 co ...

, France: 15 August 1918 – 27 August 1918 # Chevresis-Monceau, France: 27 August 1918 – 5 September 1918 # Guise, France: 5 September 1918 – 12 October 1918 # La Chapelle, France: 12 October 1918 – 20 October 1918 # Donstiennes, Belgium: 20 October 1918 – 8 November 1918 # Graux, Belgium: 8 November 1918 – 11 November 1918

Notable members

became an ace during May 1917 before transferring from

Jasta 9 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 9 was a "hunting group" (fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Although the squadron, and the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', were short-lived, they had great i ...

to command Jasta 24. He would predominate as both commander and ace, scoring 28 victories for his Jasta, and winning the ''

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

'',

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Not far behind in the victory count was Friedrich Altemeier, with his 21 victories. He won the Military Merit Cross, Iron Cross, and Silver

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

Fritz Thiede Leutnant Fritz Thiede (21 January 1896 – 14 June 1981) was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. He became a personal pilot for Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich in the 1930s. He served in the Luftwaffe during W ...

became an ace with Jasta 24, transferred out to command of Jasta 38, and was awarded an Iron Cross. Wolfgang Güttler and pre-war pilot Kurt Ungewitter served with Jasta 24; both won Iron Crosses. Hasso von Wedel also won the Iron Cross while beginning his military aviation career with the squadron. He succeeded to unit command, and later served through World War II. Alwin Thurm was another ace with the unit.

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

ace of aces Godwin Brumowski was hosted by the Jasta from 19 to 27 March 1918, and flew patrols with them.

Aircraft

Jasta 24 began operations in 1917 with

Pfalz Pfalz, Pfälzer, or Pfälzisch are German words referring to Palatinate (disambiguation), Palatinate. They may refer to: Places *Pfalz, the Palatinate (region) of Germany **Nordpfalz, the North Palatinate **Vorderpfalz, the Anterior Palatinat ...

fighters,

s and

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service () during World War I. A modified licensed version was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (''Luftfahrtruppen''). The D.III was flown ...

s; they also seem to have had at least one Fokker E.V in stock. In May 1917, they tested models of the Siemens-Schuckert D.I but found it inferior to the Albatros. The Jasta received

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is 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 second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

fighters in the Summer of 1918.

Operations

Squadron's location during their protracted formation was the ''Armee-Abteilung'' A Sector. Upon movement to Annelles on 16 April 1917, they were stationed on the '' 1 Armee'' Front. They moved to support of '' 5 Armee'' on 12 June 1917, then two weeks later to support '' 4 Armee'' at Heule. They then moved to support '' 18 Armee'' for the remainder of the war.

References

;Bibliography * 24 Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 {{wwi-air