Oswald Boelcke, WWI German Flying Ace

Oswald Boelcke, WWI German Flying Ace

Oswald Boelcke (May 19, 1891 - October 28, 1916) was a German flying ace and one of the most influential patrol leaders and tacticians of the early years of air combat. He was the first to formalize rules of air fighting, which he presented as the Dicta Boelcke. His main concern was the use of formation fighting rather than single effort. In 1916 he was given permission to choose his own pilots to form a fighter squadron. Jasta 2 (known as Jasta Boelcke) quickly became the best known and feared German Luftstreitkräfte Squadron. On October 28, 1916 he went out on his sixth sortie of the day with his two best pilots, Manfred von Richthofen and Erwin Böhme, and three others. The patrol led them into a dogfight with a squadron from the RFC. Boelcke and Böhme, unaware of each other's presence, closed in on the same aircraft. At some point Böhme's landing gear brushed Boelcke's upper wing. As the fabric peeled off the upper wing of his aircraft, Boelcke struggled for control. He made a soft crash-landing, but his lap belt did not restrain him, and he never wore a helmet when he flew. The victor of 40 aerial engagements, was dead at age 25. He was buried with full honors at his aerodrome in Cambrai. The Royal Flying Corps dropped a wreath a day later over Jasta 2 which read, "To the memory of Captain Boelcke, a brave and chivalrous foe."

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

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3000 x 3936 px | 33.8 MB

25.4 x 33.3 cm | 10.0 x 13.1 in (300 dpi)