Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke (German: [ˈbœlkə]; 19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916) was a German professional soldier and pioneering flying ace credited with 40 aerial victories during World War I. Boelcke is honored as the father of the German fighter air force, and of air combat as a whole. He was a highly influential mentor, patrol leader, and tactician in the first years of air combat, 1915 and 1916.
Boelcke fulfilled his childhood dream of a military career by joining the Imperial German Army on 15 March 1911. He pursued an early interest in aviation, learning to fly as World War I began. After duty as an aerial observer during 1914, he became one of the original fighter pilots during mid-1915. Flying the first true fighters, Boelcke, Max Immelmann, and several other early aces began shooting down enemy airplanes. Boelcke and Immelmann were the first German fighter pilots awarded Prussia's highest honor, the Pour le Mérite. The German high command reassigned Boelcke after his 19th victory. During his forced grounding on staff duty, he helped transform Die Fliegertruppe (Flying Troop) air arm into the Luftstreitkräfte (Air Force). His innovative turn of mind codified his combat experiences into the first manual of fighter tactics distributed to an air force, the Dicta Boelcke. The Dicta promulgated axioms for individual pilot success, as well as a requirement for teamwork directed by a formation's leader. Modern aerial combat tactics manuals stem from the Dicta.
After an enforced holiday leave spent on a military inspection tour of Ottoman facilities, Boelcke was picked to lead one of Germany's first fighter squadrons, Jagdstaffel 2 (Fighter Squadron 2). Its pilots were hand-picked by Boelcke and indoctrinated in his Dicta through extensive training. During September and October 1916, Boelcke scored 21 more victories while commanding Jagdstaffel 2, maintaining his position as the world's highest-scoring ace. He was killed in a mid-air collision with his best friend, Erwin Böhme, on 28 October 1916. By the end of the war, Jagdstaffel 2 (renamed Jasta Boelcke) had 25 aces in its ranks; many of them were selected to lead other squadrons and four of its members became generals during World War II. Boelcke's influence extends to the present, with extensive tributes to him at the German Air Force's Nörvenich Air Base and throughout Germany.
The son of a schoolmaster, Oswald Boelcke was born on 19 May 1891, in Giebichenstein (since 1900 a district of Halle), Prussian Province of Saxony. The Boelcke family had returned to the German Empire from Argentina six months before Oswald's birth. His family name was originally spelt Bölcke, but Oswald and his elder brother Wilhelm (1886–1954) dispensed with the umlaut and adopted the Latin spelling in place of the German. The pronunciation is the same for both spellings.
Boelcke caught whooping cough aged three, resulting in lifelong asthma. When he was four, his father moved the family to Dessau near the Junkers factory in pursuit of professional advancement. The planes flying overhead were Boelcke's first exposure to aircraft.
As Boelcke grew, he turned to athletics despite his asthma. In later life, he was described as being about 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 meters) tall, broad-shouldered and well proportioned, with great agility and strength. He played soccer and tennis, skated and danced, and was considered the best gymnast in his school. He was an oarsman, and a prizewinning swimmer and diver. When he was 17, he became an alpinist capable of out-climbing his father and elder brother. His athletic prowess made him a popular leader on the school playing fields.
He got along well in school with both his fellow students and the teachers. His frank and friendly demeanor, blond hair, and intense blue eyes made him memorable. One source says Oswald Boelcke was studious as well as athletic, excelling at mathematics and physics.
Boelcke's family was a conservative one. They realized that a military career could move their son up the social ladder. Under this influence, while in the third or fourth form, ten-year-old Boelcke wrote a personal letter to Kaiser Wilhelm requesting an appointment to military school. His wish was granted when he was 13, but once his parents were apprised of the opportunity by the belated letter of reply, they objected and he did not attend Cadet School. He attended Herzog Friedrichs-Gymnasium (Duke Frederick's High School) instead of interrupting his education.
Boelcke's interest in a military career seemed undiminished. While in school, his favorite author was the nationalist writer Heinrich von Treitschke. Boelcke also read publications from the German General Staff. At age 17, for an elocution class, he chose three subjects—General Gerhard von Scharnhorst's military reforms, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin's life before his aeronautical experiments, and the first airship flights. Despite his principal's reservations about his scholarship, Boelcke was awarded his Abitur honors degree on 11 February 1911.
After leaving school Boelcke joined a telegraph battalion in Koblenz as a Fahnenjunker (cadet officer) on 15 March 1911. As he learned his general military duties, he saw more airplanes. In January 1912 he began attending the Kriegsschule (Military Academy) in Metz. As the advent of spring lengthened the days, he took advantage of his early class dismissal to spend the rest of his daylight hours watching airplanes at a nearby airfield. In June, he stood his final exams. His written tests were graded as only "fair"; his oral exams were "good" or "very good"; his leadership skills were considered "excellent".
In July 1912, he graduated and was commissioned as an ensign. Since Boelcke had gained his Abitur, his commission was back-dated to 23 August 1910, making him senior to the other new ensigns in his battalion. Promotion to lieutenant soon followed. He settled into a daily routine of training recruit telegraphers, and enjoyed an active social life.
During 1913, Boelcke took advantage of a temporary posting to Metz to be taken on some flights with the 3rd Air Battalion. That October he was transferred to Darmstadt. On a visit to Frankfurt, he witnessed an aerobatic performance by pioneer French aviator Adolphe Pégoud. In February 1914, he competed in the officer's pentathlon, taking third place and qualifying for the 1916 Olympics scheduled for Berlin.
Without informing his family, Boelcke applied for a transfer to aviation duty. On 29 May 1914, he was accepted for pilot's training. On 2 June, he began a six-week course of instruction at the Halberstädter Fliegerschule (Halberstadt Flying School). He passed his final pilot's exam on 15 August. His first assignment was training 50 neophyte pilots on an Aviatik B.I.
World War I having begun, Boelcke was anxious to see action. On 31 August, he connived his way into joining his older brother Wilhelm at Feldflieger Abteilung 13 (Field Flyer Detachment 13). On 1 September, the aircrew of Boelcke and Boelcke flew the first of many missions together. On 8 September, during reconnaissance of a French aerodrome, Wilhelm avoided a challenge by French aircraft because he feared they had machine guns aboard.
The brothers soon compiled a record of flying longer missions at more frequent intervals than the other aircrews, causing some resentment within the unit. The two Boelckes continued to fly as the weather worsened and the opposing armies' activities began to stagnate into trench warfare. By year's end, Oswald, who had been last to join the section, had flown 42 sorties beyond the front line and Wilhelm had flown 61. The next most active airman had 27 sorties.
There was little ground combat and little need for air support during early 1915. Oswald had a spell in hospital with asthma, and both brothers went on home leave. The Boelckes' new commanding officer wished to separate them. In late March, matters came to a head when the brothers refused to fly separately and jumped the chain of command to complain but, in April, they were parted. As Wilhelm returned to Germany, Oswald was posted to Feldflieger Abteilung 62 (Field Flyer Detachment 62) in La Brayelle, Douai, France on 25 April.