Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 21 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 148 verified aerial victories, including at least 30 destructions of enemy observation balloons. In turn, their casualties for the war would amount to eight 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, ...

, six

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 fallen

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

Jagdstaffel 21 was founded on 25 October 1916, drawing from FA 40 and Kagohl 7 for its initial assignment of men. It was mobilized on 6 December 1916. It suffered its first casualty on 10 February 1917, and scored its first victory on 24 March 1917. It would serve through war's end. Two of its members would soldier on after war's end, and eventually wear general's stars in the ''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

''.

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 ...
'')

# Richard Schlieben: 15 November 1916 – 26 May 1917 #

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 ...

: 26 May 1917 – 23 October 1917 # Oskar Freiherr von Boenigk: 23 October 1917 – 27 August 1918 # Josef Schulte: 27 August 1918 – 11 November 1918

Aerodromes

# AFP 3: 25 October 1916 – 15 November 1916 #

Neuflize Neuflize () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ardennes department The following is a list of the 447 communes of the Ardennes department of France France, official ...

, France: 15 November 1916 – 1 July 1917 # Chassogne Ferme, Verdun, France: 1 July 1917 – 26 December 1917 # Saint-Loup, France: 26 December 1917 – 10 January 1918 # Saint-Mards, France: 10 January 1918 – 18 May 1918 #

Sissonne Sissonne () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is about 20 km east of Laon, close to the source of the river Souche. The community dates back to the 12th century with the first church built c.11 ...

, France: 18 May 1918 – 6 June 1918 # Boncourt, France: 6 June 1918 – 23 September 1918 # Sissonne: 23 September 1918 – 11 October 1918 #

Plomion Plomion () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Plomion was the site of a massacre by retreating German forces on the evening of August 31, 1944 as the American army approached pushing toward the ...

, France: 11 October 1918 – 11 November 1918

Notable members

Jasta 21 was fortunate to spend most of its existence under a pair of leaders worthy of 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 ...

'' 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 ...

: Eduard Ritter von Schleich and Oskar Freiherr von Boenigk; the former also rated the

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: ...

. Both would continue their military careers postwar, and ascend into the ranks of the generals. The unit also had a third ''

'' in its ranks in

Karl Thom Leutnant Karl Thom (19 May 1893 – 3 March 1945), was a German World War I flying ace credited with 27 victories. He was decorated with both his nation's highest decorations for valor, the Military Merit Cross as an enlisted soldier, and the Po ...

, who also had won the MMC,

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

. Emil Thuy made the fourth ''Pour le Mérite'' winner in the squadron; he also had the Hohenzollern and Iron Cross. There was a little coterie of balloon aces in Jasta 21. Foremost was

Fritz Höhn Leutnant Fritz Höhn (31 May 1896 – 3 October 1918) was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 21 victories. He had worked his way up to being a fighter squadron commander and was eligible for the German Empire's highest award for herois ...

, Hohenzollern and Iron Cross, although Max Kuhn and Heinrich Haase were also

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 ...

aces. Also notable in the squadron were

Rudolf Matthaei Leutnant Rudolf Matthaei (10 November 1895 – 17 April 1918) was a German World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/matthaei.php Retrieved on 20 April 2010. Early lif ...

, the Iron Cross winner who would move on to successfully command Jasta 46, and

Werner Wagener Leutnant Werner Wagener (born 13 November 1894, date of death unknown) was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.The Aerodrome website page on WageneRetrieved on 16 September 2020 As a Fokker Eindekker pilot, he was one of t ...

, who won not only the Iron Cross, but also the 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 ...

and the

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 ...

MMC.

Aircraft

The squadron used both

Albatros An albatross is one of a family of large winged seabirds. Albatross or Albatros may also refer to: Animals * Albatross (butterfly) or ''Appias'', a genus of butterfly * Albatross (horse) (1968–1998), a Standardbred horse Literature * Albat ...

and

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. Their squadron's basic paint scheme featured a black and white band circling the fuselage just aft of the cockpit, along with striped elevators. It would begin to switch to

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 ...

s in the early summer of 1918.

Operations

When the squadron went operational on 6 December 1916, it was working on the '' 3rd Armee'' front. By July 1918, it had joined '' Jagdgruppe 5'', and finished the war there.

References

;Bibliography *

External links

{{wwi-air 21 Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918