Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 46 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 20 confirmed aerial victories over enemy observation balloons, plus thirty more over enemy aircraft. The ''Jasta'' paid a price of ten killed in action, one lost in a flying accident, six wounded in action, and three injured in accidents.

History

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 46 was formed at FEA Graudenz on 11 December 1917. It mobilized on Christmas Day, under command of ''Leutnant''

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 ...

, brought in from Jasta 5 for that purpose. It scored its first aerial victory on 12 February 1918. After Matthaei's death, a new commander was imported from Jasta 39, only to be

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, ...

. Leutnant Creutzmann was then assigned in from Jasta 43 and survived and served until war's end.

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 ...
'')

# Rudolf Matthaei: 25 December 1917 – 17 April 1918 (Killed in flying accident) # Josef Loeser: 23 April 1918 – 3 June 1918 # Otto Creutzmann: 5 June 1918 – 11 November 1918

Aerodromes

# Graudenz: 11 December 1917 – 29 December 1917 #

Ascq Ascq (; ) is a former commune on the Marque river in the Nord department in northern France, seven kilometers from Belgium. Agricultural village until the Industrial Revolution, the former independent commune merged with others to become a distr ...

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, France: 29 December 1917 – 12 March 1918 #

Bévillers Bévillers is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The commune ...

, France: 12 March 1918 – 23 March 1918 # Liéramont, France: 23 March 1918 – 31 July 1918 #

Moislains Moislains () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Moislains is situated on the D184 and D43 crossroads, some northwest of Saint-Quentin. Population Personalities Ferdinand Carré, engineer, ...

, France: 31 July 1918 – October 1918 #

Villers-Sire-Nicole Villers-Sire-Nicole is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes coo ...

, France: October 1918 – 11 November 1918

Notable members

Oskar Hennrich Oskar Hennrich was a German World War I flying ace credited with 20 aerial victories. He was a notable balloon buster, since thirteen of his wins were destructions of the observation balloons. He was the leading ace of his squadron, and ended his ...

MMC,

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 ...

, top ace in squadron and

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 ...

ace. *

Robert Heibert '' Offizierstellvertreter'' Robert Heibert (8 January 1886 – 10 May 1933) was a German flying ace during World War I. He was credited with 13 confirmed aerial victories; he also had seven unconfirmed claims. Early life and service Heibert ...

: MMC, Iron Cross. *

Helmut Steinbrecher Leutnant Helmut Steinbrecher was the first pilot in history to successfully parachute from a stricken airplane, on 27 June 1918. He was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. Biography Helmut Steinbrecher was born in Dresde ...

: Iron Cross, first pilot to successfully deploy a parachute in combat. * Otto Creutzmann: Iron Cross. * Rudolf Matthaei: Iron Cross.

Aircraft

The Jasta flew the

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft of the German aircraft manufacturer ''Albatros Flugzeugwerke''. It was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatros fighter to see operational service with the (Imperial German A ...

a and

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 ...

a, but the

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 ...

was the predominant aircraft used by the squadron.

Operations

After going operational on 25 December 1917, the Jasta became part of Jagdgruppe Nord four days later. JG Nord, founded in January 1918, also contained

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 ...

(before

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 ...

's departure) and

Jasta 57 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 57, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 57, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The squadron would score over 32 aerial victor ...

, and was tasked to '' 6th Armee''.On 12 March 1918, Jasta 46 transferred to '' Jagdgruppe 2'', joining

Jasta 5 History Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 5, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 5, was created on 21 January 1916, and mobilized on 21 August 1916, as one of the first fighter units of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army ...

there. Jasta 46 would anchor JG 2 through war's end, even as

Jasta 37 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 37, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 37, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score over 70 aerial victories ...

joined the ''Gruppe''.

Surviving aircraft

The only known surviving aircraft from Jasta 46 in the 21st century appears to be the restored

a owned by the Smithsonian's

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...

, noted as being from Jasta 46 due to the squadron's characteristic pine green and yellow diagonal striping on the rear fuselage and tail surfaces uncovered through restoration and vintage photos.

References

;Bibliography * 46 Military units and formations established in 1917 1917 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 {{wwi-air