In early 1917, the German High Command realized that they would always be outnumbered in the sky. The average German Air Force squadron, or Jasta, could only put up 6 to 9 aircraft on patrols and some local commanders began grouping Jastas together in composite groups to increase the number of aircraft on patrols over a given sector of the Western Front. By the middle of the year the grouping Jastas became official with the formation of the world’s first fighter wing or Jagdgeschwader, the first fighter wing being JG 1 which was composed of Jastas 4,6,10, and 11. With its first commander, Manfred von Richtofen “Red Baron”, JG 1 was a mobile unit that could set up operations anywhere on the front and “swarm” that sector with four Jastas’ worth of fighters, creating local air superiority by concentrating forces on key sectors. JG 1’s aircraft were brightly colored and their mobile nature resembled a traveling circus which is how they got their nickname, “The Flying Circus”. The battlefield success of JG 1 led to the formation of JG 2 and JG 3 as well. By the summer of 1918, JG 1 was fully equipped with the Fokker Dr.I triplane’s replacement, the Fokker D.VII. This photo is the Fokker D.VII’s successor, the parasol wing monoplane Fokker D.VIII. Faster and agile, the Allies called the D.VIII the “Flying Razor”- Jasta 6 of the Flying Circus was first to get the D.VIII in July 1918. Structural issues were found and rectified and Jasta 11 of the Flying Circus got its D.VIIIs in October 1918. Only 381 were built and only 85 made it to front line service before the end of the First World War. | October Aviation Photo Challenge | @kjdphoto1971 | #1017planes | “The Greatest Show on Earth” | Day 27 | #Avgeek #aviation #aircraft #planeporn #KBFI #BFI #BoeingField #MuseumofFlight #airport #planespotting #Fokker #DVIII #instagramaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #Avgeekery #mil_aviation_originals #instaaviation #aviationlovers #aviationphotography #flight #AvgeekSchoolofKnowledge (at The Museum of Flight)
