Birth of Jasta 2
 

By the end of June, 1916, Oswald Boelcke participated in consultations about the creation of new fighter squadrons held in Charleville. On this occasion, Boelcke emphasized his personal conviction that it was insufficient to put only a handful of single fighters together to form a fighter squadron. He pointed out that it was essential to train all members of a squadron to become a disciplined team, working together in the air fights.

Up to now, the "Jagdflieger" (fighter pilots) were hunting mostly as lone wolves, including Boelcke himself, but in the future they should get organized to a new instrument of war - the JAGDSTAFFEL (fighter squadron) - being educated, trained and forged together to cooperate.

Only late in the summer of 1916, the results of the consultations from Charleville came true. Oswald Boelcke got officially committed to personally setup a JASTA (short for "Jagdstaffel") on August 12, 1916 (other sources speak of August 10).

The new Jasta was to be setup in Bertincourt, southwest of Cambrai. As Oswald Boelcke arrived at the place, he found nothing but the airfield of "Park Vélu" with four fixed hangars, which had been used by the "Feldflieger-Abteilung 32" until that day. Also some of the ground crews assigned to him were there.

While at the same time Jasta 1 was formed from a bigger number of single seaters from the 1st Army, Jasta 2 had to be build completely from scratch. As on August 23, Hauptmann Zander took over the command of Jasta 1, that squadron was nearly completed. Some of the ground crews of Jasta 1 got assigned to Jasta 2 and on August 29, Leutnant Höhne transferred to Jasta 2 as well. Boelcke wrote in a letter to his parents: "I am very busy now. Need to gather everything together, much is still missing, most important are THE MACHINES." That was his first short letter home from the Somme.

The "War Diary" of Jasta 2 started on August 27, 1916, which is officially mentioned as it's date of foundation.

"27.8. Jasta 2 was meeting under the leadership of Hauptmann Boelcke. Officers and crews are coming from different departments.
Stock: 3 Officers (Hptm Boelcke,  Ltn. d. R. von Armin, Ltn. d. .R. Günther), 64 Unteroffiziere and crews.
Quarters: Officers are living in Bertincourt, Crews are living in barracks.
Airplanes: none there yet
Activities: setting up the airfield.

On September 1, 1916 the Lieutenants Reimann and von Richthofen joined Jasta 2, as well as the Vize-Feldwebel Reimann and Max Müller. On September 8, it were Leutnant Böhme and Oberleutnant Viehweger who both also joined.

On September 8, the squadron had only 7 Officers for the 14 aircraft assigned because Leutnant von Armin - who was officially assigned to Jasta 2 on August 27 - fell already one day later as he still flew with his old squadron.

The first aircraft arrived on September 1. It was the Albatros biplane (probably D.II), brought to Jasta 2 by Vize-Feldwebel Reimann, plus two Fokker biplanes (D.III). One of the Fokker D.III was taken over to the field from the army depot by Oswald Boelcke himself. Later, Fokker D.III 352/16 was given to the weapon museum at the Berlin "Zeughaus" by the Emperor himself to be exposed for the honor of Oswald Boelcke.

note from the author: Because this museum got destroyed in an RAF bombing raid on Berlin in 1945, and later plundered by the invading Russian troops, it is unlikely that this plane survived World War 2. Because  I have no information on the aircraft of WW1 being exposed there before the end of WW2 I would be grateful for every detail I can get about the fate of these machines. If you know what happened to this aircraft, or to the machine of Manfred von Richthofen, please contact me. 

Next day, on September 2, 1916, Oswald Boelcke claimed his twentieth victory while flying Fokker D.III 352/16.

Boelcke reported about this victory in his letter home, written on September 4:

Bertincourt, 4.9.1916. To your astonishment you will certainly have read already about my "number twenty", maybe because you believed me busy with setting up my squadron rather than being in the air. A few days ago 2 machines arrived from Fokker for me and the day before yesterday I did my first flight. At the front, the enemy was very active in the air.  These fellows became really brazen. As I was flying so peacefully behind our lines, one of them wanted to do me something, but I did not accept the challenge because he flew higher than I. Later I saw explosion dots west of Bapaume. There I found a B.E. biplane as well as 3 Vickers single seaters which was an artillery observer with his escort. I attacked the B.E. but in the middle of my work the other three disturbed me and I had to withdraw immediately. One of these fellows seemed to believe that he can get me so he followed me. A little away from the other I accepted the fight and soon I got him. I did not let him go and he was unable to fire anymore. As he went down, he made intense turns but this was done involuntary, like he told me later, because his elevators was shot. He came down north of Thiepval. The flyer jumped off the burning plane, beating around with his arms and legs because he was burning too. I flew back home then to restart with new ammunition but I had no success anymore.

The Englishman I had forced to land was Captain Wilson. I picked him up from the POW collection place to invite him for a coffee at the Casino. I also showed him our airfield and on that occasion I got very interesting information out of him.

In a letter that Captain Wilson wrote home to England from the POW camp in Osnabrück, he reported about the event:

I comfort myself to be shot down by the greatest of all German aviators - Captain Oswald Boelcke -  and by the fact that my life got preserved in a miraculous way.
You know that I fly a fast single seater Vickers fighting machine. On a reconnaissance flight, I saw how a German fighter wanted to finish one of our old and slow B.-E- machines off and I arrived just at the right time to save it. After I had fired only a few shots at him he turned and flew away, homewards. Me fool followed him, not noticing that he only wanted to lure me over to his territory. After I had followed him about 15 miles behind the German lines, he suddenly turned and attacked,  climbing over me with a marvelous speed. He flew an aircraft type that I never saw before and of which speed and climb capabilities I had no idea. Just after I had fired a few rounds only, my machine gun jammed so that I couldn't get a single shot out of it anymore.
Under such circumstances the only thing to do was it to turn and try to escape a much faster machine with a superior opponent. I tried every known trick to escape him but he followed me in an outstanding way, staying always at my neck. He shot up all of my controls except but for two which got jammed. He shot up the machine, shot the fuel control valve in my hand, shot the gas tank, made holes in my coat on two places which was soaked with fuel. I had completely lost control of my aircraft of course, which rushed down with the nose forward - a less agreeable feeling! I was sitting there, waiting half dizzy to hit the ground. About 50 ft over the ground I was desperately pulling on the controls and suddenly gained enough control at the last moment to avoid a crash and do some kind of a landing where the machine as well as my coat got ignited. I managed to jump off the machine and throw off my coat so that I did not suffer from burns. The German came down low but flew away after he was convinced that I was finished.
On the other day, Boelcke invited me to his airfield where he hosted me at his casino. He also allowed to have a photograph taken together with me. I did not only receive a great impression of him as an aviator but also as a personality and this day will forever remain one of the greatest memories of my life,  no matter how disadvantageous the fight with him ended for me.

After Boelcke's death, Captain Wilson send a laurel wreath for his victor.

Because the new Albatros biplanes had not yet arrived, the few available machines could only fly solo missions in the first half of September. Until the 14..9., the war diary of the squadron reported already about 9 fighter missions. On such missions, Boelcke scored a series of 5 victories between the 8. and 15.9.. Of this time a little story is known, found between the old documents of the squadron and written down with other memories of one of his trusted fellows:

"As Boelcke came back from a mission, we asked him while he was still sitting and laughing in his machine: 'One more, Herr Hauptmann?'. He answered with a counter-question: 'Do I have a black chin?' (from the gunpowder vapor of the machinegun). So well!" - Another one had been falling!

Of these memories of his fellow pilots one thing should be mentioned: Boelcke lived a very moderate life. He never was a smoker - at the best he occasionally took a cigarette on parties for reasons of politeness but put it aside already after a  few puffs only. He was very moderate with the drinking and lived quite an abstinent life. But he was a too natural character for making this a principle, not taking a glass of vine with his comrades on given occasions. His main source of recuperation was it to go to bed early but as soon as the weather was good for flying he knew nothing but his service.

Finally, on September 16, the new Albatros biplanes arrived in Cambrai! Still in the same evening at 6 o'clock, Ltn Höhne scored already the first victory flying one of those machines. For the 17.9., the war diary recorded "13 sorties, 5 dogfights,  4 successful". Already early in the morning at 07.45, Böhme scored a victory, and after the start at 09.45, Richthofen, Ltn Reimann and Boelcke all scored one victory as well. That Sunday, September 17, - as formation flying finally began - is considered to be the real birthday of the "JAGDSTAFFEL BOELCKE".

Home