page_title: Jagdstaffel 26
section_title: Aircraft
hierarchical_section_title: Jagdstaffel 26 / Aircraft
caption_attribution_description: English: Fritz Beckhardt was from Wallertheim in Hesse. At the start of the war he volunteered for the infantry and later trained as a pilot in Hamburg and Hanover. He flew long-range reconnaissance missions and later received fighter pilot training and served with Jagdgeschwader 3, Jagdstaffel 26, and Kest 2. During the war Beckhardt received the Iron Cross (First Class), the House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords, the Hessian Medal of Bravery, the Hessian Order of Ernst Ludwig, the aviator’s badge, a silver cup for bravery, and various badges for accomplishments and wounds. After Germany lost the war, Beckhardt refused to deliver his plane over to the enemy and instead flew it to Switzerland. Beckhardt flew a Siemens Schuckert fighter with a swastika on it. Pilots on both sides flew planes adorned with swastikas, an ancient symbol that at the time of World War I still represented the sun, or good luck, or just an interesting image.
context_page_description: Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 26 was a "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 177 verified aerial victories, including four observation balloons destroyed. The Jasta would pay a bloody price for its success: five pilots killed in action, nine wounded in action, and one prisoner of war.
context_section_description: While few specifics of aircraft usage by Jasta 26 still exist, the following is known about the types assigned to the squadron.
  The Albatros D.III entered service in January 1917, coincidental with the unit's foundation.
  The Albatros D.V arrived as a replacement for the Albatros D.III later in 1917.
  The Fokker Dr.I triplane was brought into service in August 1917. A later consignment arriving in late March 1918 finished the equipage of the unit with triplanes.
  Fokker D.VIIs were introduced in late April or early May 1918.
  As can be seen in the photo, the squadron's stark livery consisted of alternating white and black bands circling fuselage and tail.
caption: Fritz Beckhardt in his Siemens-Schuckert D.III fighter of Jasta 26; the reversed swastika insignia was a good luck symbol.
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