Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 39, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 39, 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 ...

. The unit would score 68 aerial victories during the war, including 14 observation balloons downed. The squadron's victories came at the expense of seven pilots killed in action, one killed in a flying accident, five wounded in action, and one taken prisoner of war.

History

Jasta 39 was founded on 30 June 1917 at ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung'' (Replacement Detachment) 15,

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Germany. It held its first formation 2 August 1917, under its original commander, Karl August Raben. It would serve until war's end, when the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' was disbanded.

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 ...
'')

# August Raben: 2 August 1917 (to Jasta 15 as ''Staffelführer'' on 14 March 1918) # Franz von Kerssenbrock: 17 November 1917 # Josef Loeser: 4 December 1917 # Johann Hesselink: 4 April 1918

Duty stations

, Germany: 30 June 1917 #

Ensisheim Ensisheim (; in Alsatian Ansa ()) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is also the birthplace of the composer Léon Boëllmann. The Germanic origins of the village's name reflect the area's histo ...

: 2 August 1917 #

Campoformido Campoformido (; archaically ''Campoformio''; ) is a town and (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-eastern Italy, with a population of 7743 (December 2019). It is notable for the Treaty ...

, Italy: # San Giacomo, Italy # Roveredo, Italy # Cervada, Italy #

San Fior San Fior is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italy, Italian region Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northeast of Treviso. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,357 and an area of .All demogr ...

, Italy # St. Loup,

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

, France: March 1918 # Boncourt, France # Guesnain, France #

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 #

Rocourt-Saint-Martin Rocourt-Saint-Martin () 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 Aisn ...

, France #

Erre Erre () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is east of Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a S ...

, France # Bühl, France

Notable personnel

* Bernhard Ultsch * Wilhelm Hippert * Ludwig Gaim *

Reinhold Jörke OStv Johann Friedrich Reinhold Jörke (29 July 1893 – 8 November 1944) was a German World War I flying ace credited with 14 confirmed aerial victories. Biography He was posted to the Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 12 on 27 February 1917, and score ...

Operations

Jasta 39 opened combat operations in support of ''

Armee-Abteilung B Armee-Abteilung Gaede / Armee-Abteilung B (Army Detachment B) was an army level command of the German Army in World War I. It served on the Western Front throughout its existence and formed the extreme left wing (up against the Swiss Border). ...

'' on 15 August 1917. On 15 September 1917, it was transferred to Italy, where it would score 41 aerial victories. The squadron would return to France in March 1918, and serve there until war's end.

Aircraft

Jasta 39 operated

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 ...

and Albatros D.V fighters while in Italy. It is not known what other aircraft were used.

References

;Bibliography * 39 Military units and formations established in 1917 1917 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 {{wwi-air