Its first commanding officer was the great aerial tactician Oswald Boelcke, and it was the incubator of several notable aviation careers.

Boelcke was ordered to return from an inspection tour of south-eastern theatres of the War to take command and arrived back on the Western Front later that month.

[1][2] Given a choice between a desk job and a tour of the Middle East, Boelcke downed a Nieuport over Douaumont on 27 June and reported to headquarters.

[3] At this time, Boelcke codified his Dicta, promulgating axioms for individual pilot success, as well as a requirement for teamwork directed by a formation's leader.

By 8 September there were eight pilots on strength, including Manfred von Richthofen, Erwin Böhme and Otto Höhne.

Three days later, Böhme noted he was pushing for permission to use his castoff Halberstadt, since Boelcke had a Fokker; there seemed to be four airplanes in the squadron by then.

At 1300 hours, 17 September, Boelcke and five of his pilots took off; they intercepted a British bombing raid on Marcoing Railway Station.

While Boelcke held aside, his five younger pilots bounced a British formation of 14 planes, broke it up, and shot down two - one being Manfred von Richthofen's first victory, the other falling to Erwin Böhme.

[9] Boelcke shot down ten Royal Flying Corps planes in his first month with Jasta 2, September 1916.

[10] However, in contrast to his freebooting style, his pilots always flew in disciplined formations in practice, and he repeatedly drilled them in his tactics.