Oswald Boelcke

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.

Germany's premier 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.

Early years

Boelcke was born 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.