Jagdstaffel 15

Jasta 15
Fokker Dr I of Lt Raben of Jasta 15
Active	1916–1918
Country	German Empire
Branch	Luftstreitkräfte
Type	Fighter squadron
Engagements	World War I

Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 15, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 15, 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 150 aerial victories during the war, at the expense of seven killed in action, two killed in flying accidents, three wounded in action, one injured in a flying accident, and two taken prisoner of war.

The "Jasta" was formed on 28 September 1916 at Rixheim, from Kampfeinsitzer Kommando Habsheim, FFA 48 and FFA 68. It mobilized on 9 October 1916. Three days later, it flew an interception mission against French and British bombers targeting Oberdorf's Mauser factory and destroyed three of them. For the next few months, the jasta achieved desultory results against French Nieuports and Caudrons. However, the ascension of Heinrich Gontermann to command in April 1917 changed that. The balloon buster ace arrived with 17 victories to this credit; in scoring 22 more with Jasta 15, he would account for about half the squadron's victories. His death via wing failure in an early model Fokker Dr.1 triplane grounded the new aircraft and dampened the jasta's performance. By the time it joined Jagdgeschwader II (JG II),, Jagdstaffel 15 had about 47 victories to its credit.

It became part of JG II under Adolf Tutschek at Autremencourt in February 1918. On 19 March 1918, Rudolf Berthold took command of JG 2 when Tutschek was killed; he arranged a swap of Jasta 15's personnel with those of Jagdstaffel 18, so that Berthold could continue to command those with whom he was familiar - Leutnant der Reserve August Raben left Jasta 15 to take command of Jasta 18 from then on. Jasta 15 demobilized in November 1918 at FEA 14 in Halle an der Saale, Germany.