In late 1917, because of the great success of Jageschwader concept, Germans authories were talking about the creation of a fifht unit, with three Jagdstaffelns. The Geschwader 5 will be operationnal for Spring 1918, and the first location was etablished to Habsheim near Colmar in the Alsace-Vosges front. And it was decided that the Oberleutnant zur see Manfred Lindestrom of Jasta 6 in the Richthofen Geschwader will be the command officer.
Manfred Lindestrom was known for his brillants arerial facts, as one of the best, otherwise the best axe air fighter. In the summer 1917 he was the only pilot to receive the suprem Roter Alder Orden honor. By the end of the year he claimed 45 comfirmed victories, and his flight reports talked about more than 75 because of the number of lone wolf patrols he made in enemy territory. Lindestrom was like Richthofen or Voss an example for the novice german pilots and it was not a surprise that german head quarters choose him to command the new Geschwader. The german ace was not a command officer thus this promotion was a really important.
The first work he had to do was to visit the flying school to choose future elite pilots. In december he went to Berlin, to Munich,... He returned to Jasta 6 for chrismas with lot of candidatures to examin. Helped by his friend Oberleutnant zur see temporary Hauptman Rudolf Ritter von Bruckeneim, the Jasta leader, he tried to made the better choice. But his primary task was war day to day, and he used to patrol the front with the future Geschwader 5 leading ace, Leutnant Joachim Esterhoff. In 12 January he and Esterhoff were flying over Douai when they attacked Squadron 43 B flight, five Se5a, in the clouds. But the weather was too bad and the two German wingmen lost each other, and the english formation has disapear. So Lindestrom climbed over the clouds bed, and here he find the 43 B flight and A flight with two others Se5a formations, a total of 20 Allied aircrafts who were flying just over the clouds and attacked him. The german ace succeeded to shoot at Captain McKenzie, the 43 A flight leader who went down in flames. After that, started his most difficult combat. He tried to plonge in the clouds to find a little bit of security. No good, he was follow by all the enemies who has recognize his famous Fokker Dr1 and certainly thought that Lindestrom was commanded few pilots not yet arrived over the clouds. Three english scouts shooted at him. He received many bullets in his triplane and one in the stomac. Now, Esterhoff who has find von Bruckeneim flight, alterted by McKenzie ball of flames, came with his C.O., Leutnant Joseph Achmann and Unteroffizier Adolf Schumacher. The new comers saw Lindestrom`s aircraft going down with many enemy planes behind. Miraculously Manfred Lindestrom who has lost conscience woke up and for few seconds after has straightened his plane, he engaged an enemy and downed him before crashed himself. After that, von Bruckeneim as he used to do burned a Se5a, Achmann and Shumacher made the same. In the afternoon Lindestrom was trasfered in emergency to hospital. Very lucky to be safe, more than a bullet in the stomac, he has the two legs broken (the right fractured in 10 points!), the two arms too, and many other wounds. But the worst for this brillant flyer was that he never will be able for the last year of war, to take off again!
So in 2 Febuary, Hauptman Karl-Heinz Maurer was assigned for being the Jageschwader 5 commander. The very unselfish Maurer, at that time C.O. of Jasta 29, learning the news, explained his desire to rename the unit as "Lindestrom`s Jageschwader". It was also decided that a fourth Jasta will be built for the Geschwader and that the first planes will be Fokkers Dreidekers. Head quarters comfirmed the operationnality of the unit for April: the Jagdstaffelns will be called FP1, FP2, FP3 and FP4 (Fokker, Pflatz). The FP1 will be commanded by Maurer, FP2 by Oberleutnant zur see Siegfried Hegel, FP3 by Oberleutnant temporary Leutnant Hans-Joachim Schuckhardt and FP4 by Oberleutnant Paul Shussler.
The "Lindestrom`s Jageschwader" was ready in 7 April 1918. The four jagdstaffelns took place in Habsheim. As Maurer has ordered, planes were paint in green, FP1 ones had grey nose and grey-green elevator top, FP2 ones had blue nose and blue-green elevator top, FP3 ones had red nose and red-green elevator top and FP4 ones had yellow nose and yellow-green elevator top, but all wore a white "L" on the fuselage. April was a month of regulation. Pilots learned to know each others. However, the 9th, Leutnant Otto Geidenberg of Jasta FP1 attacked with Unteroffizier Wilhelm Hassler, a pair of Salmsons biplace and shooted one down in his trenches near Dannemarie. It was for Geidenberg and for the Geschwader the first victory. At the end of the month the JGW5 claimed 11 victories.
BE PATIENT; UNDER CONSTRUCTION