Oswald Boelcke

Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke in 1916 with the Pour le Mérite at his neck.
Born	19 May 1891 Giebichenstein; near Halle (Saale)
Died	28 October 1916(1916-10-28) (aged 25) Near Douai
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Telegraphen-Bataillon Nr. 3, Luftstreitkräfte
Years of service	1911–1916
Rank	Hauptmann
Unit	Jasta 2
Awards	Pour le Mérite Prussian Lifesaving Medal Iron Cross

Oswald Boelcke (German: [ˈbœlkə]; 19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916) was a German flying ace of the First World War and one of the most influential patrol leaders and tacticians of the early years of air combat. Boelcke is considered the father of the German fighter air force, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics". He was the first to formalize rules of air fighting, which he presented as the Dicta Boelcke. While he promulgated rules for the individual pilot, his main concern was the use of formation fighting rather than single effort.

The German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron), had been taught by Boelcke and continued to idolize his late mentor long after he had surpassed Boelcke's tally of victories.

Oswald Boelcke was born on 19 May 1891, in Giebichenstein, the son of a schoolmaster. His father's first teaching job had been in Argentina from where the family had recently returned. Boelcke's three elder siblings were born in Buenos Aires.

His family name was originally spelt Bölcke, but Oswald and his elder brother Wilhelm dispensed with the umlaut and adopted the Latin spelling in place of the German. The pronunciation is the same for both spellings.

Boelcke's family moved to Dessau, the capital of the Duchy of Anhalt when he was young. As a youth he caught whooping cough; in order to build up his stamina, he became increasingly involved in playing sports but retained a tendency towards asthma throughout his life. Among his athletic pursuits were swimming, tennis, rowing, and gymnastics. However, he never did become very large; in later life, he was described as being about 5 feet 7 inches tall.