Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 4, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 4, 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 192 confirmed victories; in turn, it would suffer 11 killed in action, 9 wounded in action, and two taken prisoner of war. It was one of the units in the famed Flying Circus.

History

Jasta 4 was founded on 25 August 1916, drawing personnel from FFA 23 and other two-seater reconnaissance units within 2 Armee, as well as from Kampfeinsitzerkommando Vaux and Armee-Flugpark Nr. 2. In June 1917, it switched to support and control of the 4 Armee. On 24 June 1917, it became part of the forming '' Jagdgeschwader I'' (JG I). Also during that summer, the unit suffered a partial leadership vacuum, with its commanding officer

Kurt-Bertram von Döring Generalleutnant Kurt-Bertram von Döring (18 February 1889 in Ribbekardt – 9 July 1960 in Medingen (Bad Bevensen), Medingen) was a Nazi Germany, German World War II Generalleutnant of Luftwaffe. He began his career as a flying ace in World War ...

double-tasked with command of JG 1 due to the wounding of its CO,

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

. Membership in the peripatetic Flying Circus kept Jasta 4 on the move, as they moved from hot spot to hot spot. During 1918, the ''Jasta'' operated for the fronts of 2 Armee, 6 Armee, 7 Armee, and 17 Armee. They ended the war on the 5 Armee front. Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 4 passed into history on 16 November 1918, when it was disbanded at FEA 9,

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

Commanding officers

The following served as ''

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 ...

'' of Jasta 4: *

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

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 ...

: 25 August 1916 – 28 August 1916 *

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 ...

Hans Joachim Buddecke: 28 August 1916 – 14 December 1916 * Oberleutnant

Ernst Freiherr von Althaus Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (born ...

: 14 December 1916 – February 1917 * Leutnant

Wilhelm Frankl Wilhelm Frankl (20 December 1893 – 8 April 1917), ''Pour le Mérite'', Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, was a World War I flying ace, fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories. He scored his first aerial victory with a carbine ...

: February 1917 – 8 April 1917 * Oberleutnant

: 8 April 1917 – 6 July 1917 * Oberleutnant Oskar Freiherr von Boenigk (Acting): 6 July 1917 – 25 July 1917 * Oberleutnant Kurt von Döring: 25 July 1917 – 6 September 1917 * Oberleutnant Oskar von Boenigk (Acting): 6 September 1917 – 23 October 1917 * Oberleutnant Kurt von Döring: 23 October 1917 – 12 December 1917 * Leutnant de Reserves Kurt Wüsthoff (Acting): 12 December 1917 – 20 December 1917 * Oberleutnant Kurt von Döring: 20 December 1917 – 19 January 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Kurt Wüsthoff: 19 January 1918 – 16 March 1918 * Leutnant Hans-Georg von der Osten: 16 March 1918 – 28 March 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Johannes Janzen: 28 March 1918 – 3 May 1918 * Leutnant Viktor von Pressentin von Rautter (Acting): 4 May 1918 – 20 May 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves

Ernst Udet Ernst Udet (26 April 1896 – 17 November 1941) was a German pilot during World War I and a ''Luftwaffe'' Colonel-General (''Generaloberst'') during World War II. Udet joined the Imperial German Air Service in April 1915 at the age of 19 ...

: 20 May 1918 – 14 August 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Egon Koepsch (Acting): 14 August 1918 – 19 September 1918 * Oberleutnant de Reserves Ernst Udet: 19 September 1918 – 22 October 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Heinrich Maushake (Acting) : 22 October 1918 – 3 November 1918 * Leutnant de Reserves Egon Koepsch (Acting): 3 November 1918 – 11 November 1918

Duty stations (airfields)

* Vaux: 25 August 1916 – 31 August 1916 * Roupy: 1 September 1916 – 11 December 1916 * Xivry-Circourt: 12 December 1916 – 9 February 1917 *

Le Catelet Le Catelet () 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 comm ...

: 10 February 1917 – 23 February 1917 *

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 Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

: 24 February 1917 – 31 May 1917 * Ceune-

Courtrai Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. With its 80,000 inhabitants (2024) Kortrijk is the capital and largest cit ...

: 1 June 1917 – 1 July 1917 * Marckebeke: 2 July 1917 – 20 November 1917 *

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 ...

: 21 November 1917 – 25 March 1918 * Léchelle: 26 March 1918 – 2 April 1918 * Harbonnières: 3 April 1918 – 11 April 1918 * Cappy: 12 April 1918 – 19 May 1918 * Longchamps,

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 ...

: 20 May 1918 – 25 May 1918 * Puisieux Ferme,

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 ...

: 26 May 1918 – 30 May 1918 *

Beugneux Beugneux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aisne department References

Communes of Aisne Aisne comm ...

: 31 May 1918 – 17 July 1918 * Monthussart Ferme: 18 July 1918 – 29 July 1918 * Puisieux Ferme, Laon: 30 July 1918 – 9 August 1918 * Ennemain, Falvy: 10 August 1918 – 11 August 1918 * Bernes: 11 August 1918 – 30 August 1918 *

Busigny Busigny () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Busigny station has rail connections to Douai, Paris, Lille, Maubeuge and Saint-Quentin. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is ...

- Escaufourt: 30 August 1918 – 27 September 1918 * Metz-Frescaty: 28 September 1918 – 8 October 1918 *

Marville Marville may refer to: * ''Marville'' (comics), a Marvel Comics series from the early 2000s * Marville, Meuse Marville () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. An airbase built by NATO hosted fighter sq ...

: 9 October 1918 – 6 November 1918 * Tellancourt: 7 November 1918 – 10 November 1918 *

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

: 10 November 1918

Personnel

Besides the Staffelführer aces that led the squadron, a number of other notable aces served and scored with Jasta 4. They include: * Hans Klein * Fritz Anders

Aircraft and operations

Upon formation, the ''Jagdstaffel'' was equipped with

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 Fokker E.III fighters. By February 1917, it was operating

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 ...

s. It also operated

Pfalz D.III The Pfalz D.III was a fighter aircraft used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during the First World War. The D.III was the first major original design from Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. Though generally considered inferior to co ...

s. Squadron markings during this time included black and white bands around the fuselages in addition to national markings. In early and mid-1918, it had Fokker Triplanes on strength, reportedly striped red and turquoise on wings and fuselages. The squadron also reportedly operated, at some time,

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, Albatros D.Vs, Halberstadt D.Vs, and

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 ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 04 Military units and formations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918