The First Fighter Pilot (Illustrated): My Wartime Diary 1914-1916

Book Synopsis: •Oswald Boelcke was the first pilot to formalize air fighting tactics in his June 1916 DICTA BOELCKE, a set of 8 rules.•Includes a copy of the DICTA BOELCKE.•Boelcke trained Manfred von Richthofen, the ‘Red Baron’, during his leadership of one of the first-ever fighter squadrons, the Jasta 2. von Richthofen continued to idolize his mentor long after he had surpassed Boelcke’s number of aerial ‘kills’.•Includes 13 rare photographs. Oswald Boelcke shot down his first enemy kill over the Western Front on 4 July 1915. 39 more would follow as he became Germany’s undisputed top gun and an international celebrity at the very dawn of aerial warfare. He was never shot down. Put in charge of Jasta 2, one of the first-ever fighter squadrons, he put into practice the 8 tactical maxims of his fighter pilot manual, the DICTA BOELCKE which the German air force would later publish as a training pamphlet and issue to every fighter pilot it trained, two years before the Allies followed suit with their own tactical manuals. Oswald drilled his hand-picked pilots in the tactics of his DICTA and gave lectures on aircraft recognition and the relative strengths and weaknesses of their opponent’s aircraft. It worked and his squadron became one of the most successful in the German Air Service with over 25 aces including the ‘Red Baron.’ Manfred von Richthofen had learned his craft under Boelcke and said of his mentor, ‘Our beloved leader… whom we followed blindly.’ And the secret of his success? ‘I only open fire when I can see the goggle strap on my opponent’s crash helmet.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Oswald Boelcke was born in Giebichenstein, Germany in 1891. An enthusiast of military studies from an early age, he excelled at his studies and was a natural sportsman. He attended a military school in Alace-Lorraine and spent his spare time watching aeroplanes at a nearby airfield. Oswald graduated in 1912 and joined the German army as an ensign. However, at the outbreak of the First World War, he transferred to the fledgling German air force. Oswald was killed on 27 October 1916 on his sixth mission of the day when a fellow pilot collided with his Albatross fighter. Critically damaged, it spiraled to the ground and crashed, killing the 25-year-old aviation legend. The British Royal Flying Corps authorized the air drop of a wreath at Boelcke’s memorial service; it read: ‘To the memory of Captain Boelcke, our brave and chivalrous opponent.’