German Pilot Assignments

Hello,

I am a little vague on how newly trained pilots were farmed out to the front line flying units. I would assume that graduates of Prussian flight schools would most likely be assigned to Prussian units, and the same would be for the Bavarians. But was this really the case? Where would a pilot who hailed from Saxony go for flight training? I would think that, in most cases, if a pilot was not Bavarian, he would most likely attend a Prussian school, but I could be wrong about this. If a flight badge was to issued to these pilots, was the type (Bavarian or Prussian) dependant on the school attended, or the front line unit of assignment? I would appreciate any insight on this.

regards

[Craig]

Jasta 21 was a Saxon unit. That's what the "s" stands for.

Hi Craig,

Yes, I know that there were Saxon and Württemberg units that were so designated. I guess I should make my questions a little more clear. I am a little unsure on which flight schools, Prussian or Bavarian, that a person from these states (Saxon and Württemberg) would most likely attend. Because the Kaiser was Prussian (I believe), I have a feeling that Prussian flight schools would be favored (also because of there greater number). Am I wrong to assume this?

Also, was it automatic for a Prussian to attend a Prussian school, and a Bavarian to attend a Bavarian school? Lastly, would the pilot be awarded a flight badge (Prussian or Bavarian) dependant on the school they attended or the front line unit they were assigned to? Another factor may be the pilot's army of enlistment that determined which badge was awarded.

regards

[wulffo]

didn't udet go to a prussian flight school after being rejected in bavaria?

[FliegerJG1]

Reading in Above the Lines by Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey and Russell Guest on page 219, Ernst Udet took flying lessons at his own expense. He entered aviation at Darmstadt in 1915 and received his military pilot's certificate there.

There's all kinds of data in this book and sorting through it probably would reveal where the pilots of the different states were trained and so forth. I began reading this book once and found it really interesting because the wealth of data enabled me to make connections between pilots and places and other stuff.

Hope this helps....Regards, FliegerJG1

Thank you FliegerJG1, I will have to read that source a little more carefully. At first glance I didn't see any references to the training provided by fliegerschules.

regards