Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 22 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 57 verified aerial victories. Their eleven wins over enemy observation balloons made them a

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 ...

squadron. In turn, their casualties for the war would amount to five 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, ...

, four killed in midair crashes, one killed in another flying accident, two

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 Saxon Jagdstaffel 22 was authorized on 25 October 1916; it formed on 16 November 1916. Its genesis was in the '' 7 Armee'' area, and its original personnel came from two field flier detachments, FF(A) 11 and FF(A) 29, and an artillery cooperation unit, FA(A) 222. It mobilized on 1 December 1916. First victory for the new unit is debatable; Leutnant Gustav Rose posted a claim for 27 December 1916, but

Josef Jacobs Josef Carl Peter Jacobs Pour le Mérite, PlM (15 May 1894 – 29 July 1978) was a German flying ace with 48 victories during the First World War. The victory total of the prewar flier tied him with Werner Voss for fourth place among the war's Ge ...

was credited with downing a

Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...

on 23 January 1917. Jasta 22 would serve through war's end and beyond; the squadron would not disband until 1919, in

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

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 ...
'')

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

Erich Hönemanns: transferred in from

Jasta 12 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 12 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 scor ...

on 26 November 1916 – transferred out 29 June 1917 # Leutnant Alfred Lenz: transferred in from Jasta 4 on 1 July 1917 – served until war's end on 11 November 1918

Aerodromes

# Vaux,

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The Ancient Diocese of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held s ...

: 16 November 1916 – 26 November 1916 #

Riencourt Riencourt () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Riencourt is situated northwest of Amiens, on the D121 and D69 crossroads. Population See also *Communes of the Somme department The follo ...

, Arras: 26 November 1916 – 15 May 1917 # Mont, Verdun: 15 May 1917 – June 1917 # Vivaise, France: June 1917 – September 1917 # Mont, Verdun, France: September 1917 – November 1917 # Near

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

, France: November 1917 – 19 March 1918 # La Ferté Ferme, France: 19 March 1918 – 23 March 1918 # Mont-d'Origny, France: 23 March 1918 – 29 March 1918 # Villeselve, France: 29 March 1918 – 8 April 1918 # Ercheu, France: 8 April 1918 – 12 May 1918 # Mont-Saint-Martin: 12 May 1918 – 8 July 1918 # Bignicourt, France: 11 July 1918 – 8 August 1918 #

Haubourdin Haubourdin () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the ...

, France: 8 August 1918 – 19 August 1918 #

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 ...

, France: 20 August 1918 – 11 November 1918

Notable members

* Karl Bohnenkamp: Military Merit Cross winner who scored 15 victories for the Jasta *

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 ...

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 ...

awardee who went on to become Germany's fourth scoring ace of the war *

Dieter Collin Lieutenant Dieter Collin (17 February 1893—13 August 1918) IC was a World War I German flying ace credited with 13 aerial victories.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/collin.php Retrieved on 12 April 2010. Early ...

: Iron Cross winner who went on to command Jasta 56 *

Erich Thomas Leutnant Erich Thomas was a World War I German flying ace credited with ten aerial victories. Nine of these were observation balloons he destroyed.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/thomas1.php Retrieved on 19 April 201 ...

: Iron Cross winner whose specialty was balloon busting.

Aircraft

Original equipment at mobilization was nine

Halberstadt D.II The Halberstadt D.II was a biplane fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by German aircraft company Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke. It was adopted by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Army Air Service) and served through the period ...

and two

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. The Jasta operated Albatros fighters until it gained

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 1918. It had at least one

Siemens-Schuckert D.IV The Siemens-Schuckert D.IV was a late-World War I fighter aircraft from Siemens-Schuckert (SSW). It reached service too late and was produced in too few numbers to have any effect on the war effort. Earlier designs Siemens-Schuckert's first produ ...

during the closing days of the war, as ''Staffelführer'' Lenz used one to become an ace on 29 September 1918, and was delighted with the aircraft.

Operations

Jasta 22 was originally formed in the ''7 Armee'' area. It is known to have supported that army until well into 1917. Jasta 22 fought until war's end, and disbanded in 1919.

References

;Bibliography * 22 Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 {{wwi-air