Erwin Böhme

Erwin Böhme (29 July 1879 – 29 November 1917), Pour le Mérite, was a German pilot during World War I. He was born in Holzminden, grew into an athletic sportsman and became a flying ace during the war, credited with 24 victories. He was both a close friend and a military subordinate of Oswald Boelcke and was inadvertently responsible for Boelcke's death. Böhme was also both a contemporary of and eventually subordinate to the Red Baron.

Prewar life

Böhme was the second of five sons in his family; he also had a sister. He qualified as an engineer, attending technical college in Dortmund. He reported for national service with the Garde-Jäger Regiment in 1899.

He was an athletic youth, participating in many sports. He was a superb ice skater and a champion swimmer. On 30 July 1905, he outswam all other entrants in a race across Lake Zurich, covering a three-mile distance in 52 minutes, 40 seconds. He was also a great mountain climber, during the three years he lived in Switzerland, he was the only non-Swiss member of the Swiss alpinists' guild.