Büchner joined the German army in 1914. He served at Ypres and in late 1914 contracted Typhoid fever. In 1915 he served on the Russian front and again in France the following year having been commissioned. After being wounded in action he transferred to the air service. He flew with Jasta 9 from March to August 1917, gaining just one victory, then went to Jasta 13. His leadership qualities were recognised for he was appointed Staffelfuhrer on 15 June 1918 with just four victories. From June 1918 he began to score rapidly, and by the war's end his score had leapt to 40, with 17 falling in September alone. After the war he flew during the post-war revolution, serving with the Reichswehr, but was killed in action on 18 March 1920, aged 22.
At the age of 18, Jacobs had already learned to fly. Upon the outbreak of war he enlisted in the German Army Air Service, becoming a reconnaissance pilot. Early in 1916 Jacobs was posted to Fokker Staffel West flying Fokker EIIIs. The end of March brought his first confirmed victory - a balloon, for which he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class. In October he was posted to Jasta 22, and by the end of August 1917, with 5 victories to his credit, he was ordered to take command of Jasta 7. At the end of 1917 the Jasta was re-equipped with Fokker Triplanes and during 1918, Jacobs gradually became the leading exponent of the type. By the end of the war he had accounted for 48 enemy aircraft and won the coveted Blue Max.
Originally from Strasbourg, Könnecke was a carpenter's assistant. In 1911 he volunteered for military service and in 1913 transferred to FEA 4 at Metz where he learned to fly. At the outbreak of war he was serving as an instructor and remained as such until 3 December 1916 when he was sent to Macedonia to join Jasta 25. Here, Könnecke scored his first victories. In late April 1917 he joined Jasta 5, and was to become one of its leading aces alongside Fritz Rumey and Josef Mai. These three, known as the 'Golden Triumvirate, were to score 105 of Jasta 5's 251 victories. Könnecke went on to win the Knight's Cross with Swords of the Royal Hohenzollern House Order on 20 July, followed by the coveted Pour le Merite on 26 September.
Veltjens volunteered when war came, joining the Kaiserin Augusta Guards Regiment Nr.4, on 3 August 1914. He entered the flying service at the end of 1915. His first assignment at the front was to FA23, where he was commissioned in recognition of his skills as a reconnaissance pilot. In March 1917 he went to Jasta 14 where he scored his first five victories. Then on 15 August he was transferred to Jasta 18 where he brought his total to 10. On 20 March 1918 he became a member of Jasta 15, where he took command on 18 May. He won the Iron Cross 1st Class, then the Knight's Cross with Swords of the Royal Hohenzollern House Order, on 20 May, followed by the Pour le Merite on 16 August. By the war's end he had achieved 35 victories.