Boelcke Oswald @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Oswald Boelcke Oswald Boelcke
    Oswald Boelcke
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    In front of an Albatros D.II
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  • With the Fokker E (Jasta 2) With the Fokker E (Jasta 2)
    With the Fokker E (Jasta 2)
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    Oswald
    Boelcke
  • Oswald Boelcke Oswald Boelcke
    Oswald Boelcke
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  • Buddecke,<br>Liman<br>Von Sanders,<br>Boelcke Buddecke,<br>Liman<br>Von Sanders,<br>Boelcke
    Buddecke,
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  • Oswald Boelcke Oswald Boelcke
    Oswald Boelcke
  • The Halberstadt D.II The Halberstadt D.II
    The Halberstadt D.II
  • Oswald Boelcke Oswald Boelcke
    Oswald Boelcke
  • The funeral in Cambrai (France) The funeral in Cambrai (France)
    The funeral in Cambrai (France)

Oswald Boelcke

Giebichenstein, 19 May 1891 – † Bapaume (France) 28 October 1916

Oswald Boelcke 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.

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.

Oswald Boelcke was studious as well as athletic, excelling at mathematics and physics. His father was a nationalist and a militarist. Under his influence, the 13-year-old Boelcke had the audacity to write a personal letter to the Kaiser requesting an appointment to military school. His wish was granted, but his parents objected and he did not attend Cadet School. Instead he attended Herzog Friedrichs-Gymnasium, graduating Easter 1911.

After leaving school he joined Telegraphen-Bataillon Nr. 3 in Koblenz as a Fahnenjunker (cadet officer) on 15 March 1911. After attending Kriegsschule in Metz, Alsace-Lorraine, where he took his lieutenant's exam, he received an officer commission in the Prussian Army a year later. Since Boelcke had Abitur, his commission was pre-dated 23 August 1910, making him senior to the other new lieutenants in his battalion.

World War I

1914

In mid-1914, Boelcke transferred to what was then known as the Fliegertruppe. His flight training took place from May to August at the Halberstädter Fliegerschule. He passed his final pilot's exam on 15 August 1914. He was then immediately posted to active duty. Due to the influence of his elder brother, Hauptmann Wilhelm Boelcke, Boelcke was initially posted to Fliegerabteilung 13 (Aviation Section 13), of which Wilhelm was a member. Boelcke won an Iron Cross Second Class for flying 50 missions with this unit, in company with his brother. They were such a successful team they aroused antipathy in other members of the section. As a result, Wilhelm was transferred away from his brother.

1915

At his own instigation, Boelcke transferred to Feldflieger Abteilung 62 in April 1915 which was based at Douai. This was a reconnaissance unit using LVG C.II two-seater aircraft to observe and adjust artillery fire.

In July 1915, Boelcke, Max Immelmann, Otto Parschau and Kurt Wintgens, were given access to three of the five constructed pre-production prototype examples of the Fokker E.I aircraft, the Fokker M.5K/MG. These types were fitted with a synchronized forward-firing air-cooled Parabellum machine gun slaved to a gun synchronizer that prevented accidentally shooting the Fokker's propeller. Leutnant Parschau had been the first person of this group to work with Fokker in developing the Eindecker as a prototype fighter, and received the first example of the M.5K/MG, with military serial "E.1/15", with Boelcke getting the third example, "E.3/15", which he first flew on 7 July. Use of the type by operational units was restricted; the provision being that they were to be flown when pilots were not flying reconnaissance missions in their two seaters. They were considered so revolutionary that orders had been given that they wouldn't be risked over enemy lines for fear of capture.

Wintgens, flying the last-produced example of the M.5K/MG "E.5/15", made the first victory claim with the new aircraft, on 1 July 1915, but it went unconfirmed because it fell behind French lines. Historians have since identified the aircraft and crew as being a two-seater Morane-Saulnier Type L "parasol" monoplane crewed by Capitaine Paul de Peuty and Sous-Lieutenant de Boutiny, who were both wounded.

In the meantime, while flying a two-seater, Boelcke's observer (Leutnant Heinz von Wuhlisch) shot down their first enemy aircraft on 4 July 1915, in a protracted running fight between reconnaissance craft. Boelcke landed near the French aircraft's wreckage and verified the death of the crew. On that same day, Wintgens had another unconfirmed win over a Morane Type L, and with a July 15th victory over yet another Type L "Parasol", finally got official credit for the third aircraft he had downed in his military career as his first observed, "confirmed" victory.

Boelcke won his first individual aerial combat while flying in E.3/15 on 19 August 1915. Just nine days later, he was a hero on the ground. He dived into a canal near his aerodrome, fully clothed, and rescued a drowning French boy, Albert DePlace. The child's parents wanted Boelcke to be awarded the French Legion d'Honneur; instead, he received the Prussian Lifesaving Medal.

On 22 September, Boelcke was moved to Metz, joining the Brieftauben-Abteilung-Metz unit but was moved back to FA 62 in December. He downed four more enemy aircraft before the end of the year. Max Immelmann had scored his first victory just before Boelcke's first, on 1 August with an early production E.I, E.13/15. He and Boelcke had a "horse race" of victories, with first one rival leading, then the other, as they left Wintgens behind. The deadly effect of the new aircraft on aerial combat was beginning to be referred to as the Fokker Scourge. On 1 November, the day after his sixth victory, Boelcke became the first German pilot to win the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. Immelmann duplicated the feat six days later.

By the end of 1915, Immelmann had seven victories, Boelcke had six, and Wintgens and Hans-Joachim Buddecke had three.

1916

Boelcke wins the "ace race".

Boelcke had three more "kills" in January 1916; Immelman had two, in the same month, Boelcke and Immelmann also were the first German fliers to be awarded the Pour le Mérite, Germany's highest military medal, as each pilot achieved the required eight aerial victories to earn it on the same day, 12 January. His first of the year on 5 January, was the aircraft crewed by Lieutenant William Somervill and observer Lieutenant Geoffrey Formilli. Boelcke later dropped a personal letter, written by Formilli to his family informing them he was safe, over the British airmen's base. It was auctioned by the family in 2012.

In March 1916, Boelcke emerged from a stay in hospital for intestinal problems, and upon complaining he was stationed too far from the front at Jametz, was given permission to use the forward airfield at Sivry near the Verdun offensive. Boelcke then connected a front line observation post to the airfield, and thus established the first tactical air direction center. He was made leader of the newly formed Fliegerabteilung Sivery and led them in action over Verdun. This unit of six fighter pilots was the precursor of the Jasta German fighter squadron units. The new fighter unit was stationed near Stenay, which was the headquarters of Crown Prince Wilhelm. A friendship developed between the Crown Prince and the ace.

The ace race was still on; Boelcke became the first überkanone with his 10th victory on 12 March; the following day, even as he scored, Immelmann scored one of the first double victories of the war to tie it up at 11 all. The dead heat lasted for a week; on 19 March, Boelcke used his usual tactics of pointblank fire to kill the enemy pilot and saw off his Farman's wing with machine gun fire, for win number 12. Immelmann telephoned to congratulate him and ask him for an opportunity to catch up; Boelcke jokingly offered him a week's grace. Boelcke's victory two days later may be seen as symptomatic of his disregard for Immelmann.

By this time, the unpopular Fokker E.III was being replaced by newer Halberstadt and Albatros aircraft with synchronized guns. The French had countered the "Fokker Scourge" with fast new Nieuports; the British also countered, with pusher aircraft that could fire in their direction of flight without need of synchronizing gear. Boelcke focused on developing his own counter methods: flying in tight formations, accurate gunnery in combat and remaining within his own German lines.

By 18 May, Boelcke established his lead over Immelmann for good, 16 victories to 15, to become the highest scoring ace in the war up to that time.

After Immelmann was killed on 18 June 1916 after his 17th victory, Boelcke, who then had 18 victories, was left the preeminent ace of the war. Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered Boelcke grounded for a month to avoid losing him in combat soon after Immelmann. He had become such an important hero to the German public, as well as such an authority on aerial warfare, that he could not be risked. Given a choice between a desk job and a tour of the Middle East, Boelcke downed a Nieuport over Douaumont on 27 June and reported to headquarters. Boelcke was detailed to share his expertise with the head of German military aviation. The German air force was being reorganized from the Fliegertruppe into the Luftstreitkräfte in mid-1916; this reorganization was inspired by Boelcke. At this time, Boelcke codified his Dicta, which was a distillation of his successful tactics. He also shared his views on creation of a fighter arm, and the organization of fighter squadrons.

Boelcke was sent on a tour of the Balkans. He transited Austria to visit Turkey. On the return trip he visited Bulgaria and the Russian Front. Along the way, he interviewed pilots. Boelcke was visiting Wilhelm in Kovel when he received a telegram from Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen appointing him to raise, organize and command Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 2.

The "Gentleman Pilot" letter delivery

In 1916, Boelcke shot down a British plane crewed by Lt William Somervill and Lt Geoffrey Formilli. He maintained contact with the two men when they were hospitalized and went to great lengths to deliver a letter Formilli wrote, informing people he was still alive. Formilli wrote, " PS. It was Boelcke who brought us down,” and Boelcke's kindness led to the newspaper comment that he was a "Gentleman Pilot".

Creation of Jasta Boelcke

He was given permission by the head of German aviation, Feldflugchef (Aviation Chief of Staff) Oberstleutnant Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen, to choose his own pilots to form a fighter squadron. Along the way, he interviewed pilots. Among his first selections upon his return were Manfred von Richthofen, Erwin Böhme and Hans Reimann.

Boelcke was appointed commander of his hand-picked group of pilots on 30 August 1916. Three squadrons were the first ones founded, on 10 August 1916, but among them, Jagdstaffel 2 became the premier German unit. It ended the war with 20 aces among its members, a total of 336 victories, and a casualty list of only 44. In the beginning, however, Boelcke started with only the empty buildings vacated by FFA 32 in the Vélu Woods. As of 27 August, the fledgling jasta had three officers and 64 other ranks on strength, but no aircraft. But as of 8 September, there were eight pilots on board, including Manfred von Richthofen and Erwin Böhme. Three days later, Böhme noted he was pushing for permission to use his castoff Halberstadt, since Boelcke had a Fokker; there seemed to be four aircraft in the squadron by then. On 16 September, Boelcke's new squadron received five new Albatros D.Is for the pilots, and an improved Albatros D.II for the Staffelfuhrer. Boelcke promptly put the new fighters in the air on the first-ever fighter unit effort to gain local air superiority. At 1300 hours 16 September, Boelcke and five of his pilots took off; they intercepted a British bombing raid on Marcoing Railway Station. While Boelcke held aside, his five tyros bounced a British formation of 14 planes, broke it up, and shot down two. The master himself added another.

Boelcke shot down 10 Royal Flying Corps aircraft in his first month with Jasta 2, September 1916. He would fly a solo mission in the morning and return to his "cubs", who would ask if he had scored again. He would ask them if his chin was black with burnt cordite from his machine guns' breech. If it was, he had fired his gun and scored. However, in contrast to his freebooting style, his pilots always flew in disciplined formations in practice, and he repeatedly drilled them in his tactics. Among them were his famed combat rules, called "Boelcke's Dicta", which were the first systematic analysis of air combat and continued to be applicable through World War II. Despite his run of personal successes, Boelcke's attitude is best expressed thus, in his own words: "Everything depends on sticking together when the Staffel goes into battle. It does not matter who actually scores the victory as long as the Staffel wins." He not only preached this doctrine to his own "cubs"; he proselytized throughout the Luftstreitkräfte. He wrote upon his ideas, sketched them out and delivered them in person to other aerodromes.

Death

Boelcke set out on 28 October 1916 for his sixth sortie of the day with his two best pilots, Manfred von Richthofen and Erwin Böhme, and three others. Before they had set out on their attack, Boelcke, rushing to get ready, failed to strap on his safety belt properly. The patrol eventually led them into a dogfight with single-seater DH.2 fighters from No. 24 squadron RFC.

In the ensuing dogfight, Boelcke and Böhme, unaware of each other's presence, closed in on the same aircraft, flown by Captain Arthur Knight. Von Richthofen dived in on the flight path of that very same aircraft; he was chasing the other DH.2, piloted by Lieutenant Alfred Edwin McKay. Boelcke swerved to avoid a collision with the interceding aircraft. Böhme's landing gear brushed Boelcke's upper wing. As the fabric peeled off the upper wing of his aircraft, Boelcke struggled for control. He and his aircraft fell out of sight into a cloud. When it emerged, the top wing was gone. However, Boelcke made a relatively soft crash-landing. The impact seemed survivable. However, his lap belt did not restrain him, and he never wore a helmet when he flew.

Minutes later, the pilot's lifeless body was pulled from his smashed Albatros D.II. The great Oswald Boelcke, victor of 40 aerial engagements, was dead at age 25.

Both Böhme and Richthofen left descriptions of the catastrophe. Richthofen's account, from his memoirs:

One day we were flying, once more guided by Boelcke against the enemy. We always had a wonderful feeling of security when he was with us. After all he was the one and only. The weather was very gusty and there were many clouds. There were no aeroplanes about except fighting ones.

From a long distance we saw two impertinent Englishmen in the air who actually seemed to enjoy the terrible weather. We were six and they were two. If they had been twenty and if Boelcke had given us the signal to attack we should not have been at all surprised.

The struggle began in the usual way. Boelcke tackled the one and I the other. I had to let go because one of the German machines got in my way. I looked around and noticed Boelcke settling his victim about two hundred yards away from me. It was the usual thing. Boelcke would shoot down his opponent and I had to look on. Close to Boelcke flew a good friend of his. It was an interesting struggle. Both men were shooting. It was probable that the Englishman would fall at any moment. Suddenly I noticed an unnatural movement of the two German flying machines. Immediately I thought: Collision. I had not yet seen a collision in the air. I had imagined that it would look quite different. In reality, what happened was not a collision. The two machines merely touched one another. However, if two machines go at the tremendous pace of flying machines, the slightest contact has the effect of a violent concussion.

Boelcke drew away from his victim and descended in large curves. He did not seem to be falling, but when I saw him descending below me I noticed that part of his planes had broken off. I could not see what happened afterward, but in the clouds he lost an entire plane. Now his machine was no longer steerable. It fell accompanied all the time by Boelcke's faithful friend.

When we reached home we found the report "Boelcke is dead!" had already arrived. We could scarcely realize it.

The greatest pain was, of course, felt by the man who had the misfortune to be involved in the accident.

It is a strange thing that everybody who met Boelcke imagined that he alone was his true friend. I have made the acquaintance of about forty men, each of whom imagined that he alone was Boelcke's intimate. Each imagined that he had the monopoly of Boelcke's affections. Men whose names were unknown to Boelcke believed that he was particularly fond of them. This is a curious phenomenon which I have never noticed in anyone else. Boelcke had not a personal enemy. He was equally polite to everybody, making no differences.

The only one who was perhaps more intimate with him than the others was the very man who had the misfortune to be in the accident which caused his death.

Manfred von Richthofen, The Red Battle Flyer

Boelcke is no longer among us now. It could not have hit us pilots any harder.

On Saturday afternoon we were sitting on stand-by alert in our aerodrome blockhouse. I had just begun a chess match with Boelcke—it was then, shortly after 4 o'clock during an infantry attack at the front, that we were called. As usual, Boelcke led us. It wasn't long before we were flying over Flers and started an attack on several English aeroplanes, fast single-seaters, which resisted efficiently.

In the following wild turning-flight combat, which allowed us to take shots only in short bursts, we sought to force down our opponent by alternately cutting him off, as we had already done so often with success. Boelcke and I had the one Englishman evenly between us, when another opponent, hunted by our friend Richthofen, cut directly in our path. As fast as lightning, Boelcke and I took evasive action simultaneously, and for one instant our wings obstructed our view of each other—it was then it occurred.

How I am to describe my feelings to you from that instant on, when Boelcke suddenly emerged a few meters on the right from me, his machine ducked, I pulled up hard, however nevertheless we still touched and we both fell towards the earth! It was only a slight touching, but at the enormous speed this still also meant it was an impact. Fate is usually so senseless in its selection: me, only one side of the undercarriage had torn away, him, the outermost piece of the left wing.

After a few hundred meters I got my machine under control again and could now follow Boelcke's, which I could see was only somewhat downwardly inclined in a gentle glide, heading towards our lines. It was only in a cloud layer at lower regions that violent gusts caused his machine to gradually descended more steeply, and I had to watch as he could no longer set it down evenly, and saw it impact beside a battery position. People immediately hurried to his assistance. My attempts to land beside my friend were made impossible because of the shell craters and trenches. Thus I flew rapidly to our field.

The fact that I had missed the landing, they told me of only the other day—I have no recollection of this at all. I was completely distressed, however I still had hope. But as we arrived in the car, they brought the body to us. He died in the blink of an eye at the moment of the crash. Boelcke never wore a crash helmet and did not strap himself in the Albatros either—otherwise he would have even survived the not at all too powerful of an impact.

Now everything is so empty to us. Only little by little does it come fully to our consciousness, that within the gap which our Boelcke leaves, the soul of the total is missing. He was nevertheless in each relationship our leader and master. He had an irresistible influence on all, even on superiors, which had to do purely with his personality, the all naturalness of his being. He could take us everywhere. We never had the feeling that anything could fail if he were there, and almost everything succeeded as well. In these one and a half months he has been with us we have put over 60 hostile aeroplanes out-of-action and made the dominance of the Englishmen shrink from day to day. Now we all must see that his triumphant spirit does not sink in the Staffel.

This afternoon the funeral service was in Cambrai, from where the parents and brothers escorted their hero for burying at the cemetery of honour in Dessau. His parents are magnificent people—courageously accepting the unalterable with all the pain they feel. This gives me some solace as well, but nothing can be taken away from the sorrow over the loss of this extraordinary human being.

—Erwin Böhme, letter to fiancée

Böhme also remarked, "Why did he, the irreplaceable, have to be the victim of this blind fate, and why not I?"

Böhme, blaming himself for Boelcke's death, had to be talked out of committing suicide. As the Fatherland mourned, Boelcke was buried with full honors at his aerodrome in Cambrai. The Royal Flying Corps dropped a wreath a day later over Jasta 2 which read, "To the memory of Captain Boelcke, a brave and chivalrous foe."

"I am after all only a combat pilot, but Boelcke, he was a hero."

—Manfred von Richthofen, September 1917

In honor of their great leader, Jasta 2 was officially named "Jasta Boelcke" on 17 December 1916, a name the squadron still bears to this very day. Erwin Böhme was killed exactly one year, one month, and one day after his collision with Boelcke.

In the end, Boelcke had died because of a violation of one of his own dicta, which mandated never to close in on a single combatant when others are also pursuing it.

Orders and medals

Prussian / Imperial German

  • Pour le Mérite, 12 January 1916, after his eighth victory
  • Iron Cross
  • First Class, January 27, 1915
  • Second Class, December 10, 1914
  • Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight’s Cross with Swords, 1 November 1916, after his sixth victory
  • Lifesaving Medal, (12 December 1915), for saving Albert DePlace from drowning in the canal, 29 August 1915
  • Naming of Boelcke Barracks in Koblenz
  • Honour cup for the winner in a dogfight (24 December 1915)

Duchy of Anhalt

  • House Order of Albert the Bear, Knight’s Cross, 1st and 2nd class
  • Friedrich Cross, 2nd class (31 January 1915)

Kingdom of Bavaria

  • Military Merit Order, 4th class with Swords (13 November 1915)

Other

  • Order of Bravery, 3rd class (Kingdom of Bulgaria, 9 August 1916)
  • Turkish War Medal of 1915 (Ottoman Empire), awarded personally by Enver Pascha, 15 July 1916
  • Imtiyaz Medal (Ottoman Empire)
  • Gallipoli Star (Ottoman Empire) ("Iron Crescent", 23 July 1916)
  • Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Knights Cross 1st class with Swords (31 July 1916)
  • Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd class with war decoration (Austria, 29 October 1916)
  • Knight of the Military Merit Order (Württemberg)

Dicta Boelcke

The Dicta Boelcke consists of the following 8 rules:

1. Try to secure the upper hand before attacking. If possible, keep the sun behind you.
Advantages for World War I aircraft included speed, altitude, surprise, performance and numerical superiority.

Speed: the pilot with the faster of two machines has control over the combat. He has the choice to break off combat and retire. The slower machine can not catch him. The pilot of a slower machine must stay on the defense. He can not run to safety. A fast moving aircraft can perform elaborate maneuvers, giving its pilot many options. A machine flying close to its stall speed can do little beyond wallowing in a more or less straight line. Aircraft engines available in 1914 and 1915 provided just enough thrust to keep machines airborne at 150 km/h (93 mph), and not much more. Level flight was fine, but climbing to a higher altitude took several minutes and cut air speed nearly in half. Diving, on the other hand, could add half again to a plane's top speed. By 1916, engine power and speed increased. By the end of the war, aircraft were operating regularly at speeds over 200 km/h (124 mph). Speed was critical.

Altitude: From the advantage of flying above his opponent, a pilot had more control over how and where the fight takes place. He could dive upon his opponent, gaining a sizable speed advantage for a hit and run attack. Or, if the enemy had too many advantages- numbers for instance- a pilot could fly away with a good head start. At best, World War I aircraft climbed very slowly compared with later types. Altitude was a hard earned 'potential energy' store not to be given away capriciously.

Surprise: getting the first shot before one's opponent is prepared to return fire was the 'safest' and preferred method for attack. Most air victories were achieved in the first pass. Without all-seeing devices like radar, a pilot could approach his foe stealthily, using clouds, haze or even using the enemy aircraft's own wings or tail to conceal his approach. The glare of the sun, especially, provided an effective hiding spot.

Performance: Knowing the strengths, weakness and capabilities of your own aircraft, and that of your foe, was also critical. Who was faster, who could turn tighter, how many were there, etc. He argued against foolish acts of 'heroism.' If he could not 'secure advantages,' he would not attack. One of Boelcke's pupils, Manfred von Richthofen (better known as the Red Baron), learned this rule very well and later became World War I's top scoring ace.

A documented example of Boelcke 'securing advantages' took place on 17 September 1916. Boelcke and his pilots intercepted a flight of bombers and fighters crossing the lines. He chose not to attack right away, but had his Jasta climb higher above the bombers, keeping themselves between the bombers and the sun. There they circled and waited. When the bomber pilots, observers and fighter escort pilots were preoccupied with the destruction they were causing on the ground, Boelcke signaled for his pilots to attack. Several enemy aircraft went down and Jasta 2 lost no one.

2. Always continue with an attack you have begun.
Rookie pilots would start a fight, but instinct (fear) would convince them to break it off and run. This inevitably presented the rookie's tail to his opponent's guns, making the rookie an easy victory for his enemy. Boelcke learned that it was far better to stay and continue mixing it up — waiting for his opponent to make mistakes or flee — than to break and run. To turn tail and run was to surrender most, if not all, of the advantages a pilot might have had. As an example, when Manfred von Richthofen met British ace Lanoe Hawker in November 1916, each persisted in trying to get on the other's tail. Both stuck to Boelcke's second dictum. When their endless circling had brought them down near the ground behind German lines, Hawker had to choose between landing and capture or fleeing. He chose to flee. Richthofen was then able to get behind him and shoot him down.

3. Open fire only at close range, and then only when the opponent is squarely in your sights.
A common rookie's urge was to start blasting away upon sighting his first enemy machine. Shots taken at ranges of 1000 m (3280 ft) stood little chance of hitting their mark. The rattle of machine gun fire would alert the intended target and gave them time to react.

The machine guns available for aircraft during the First World War were not highly accurate at longer ranges. Add to that the difficulty of aiming from a moving, bouncing gun platform at a fast moving target and it is a marvel that anyone ever hit anything. Boelcke preferred to fly to within 100 m (330 ft) or less before firing, to ensure hitting what he aimed at with his opening burst. Once the rattle of his guns was heard, the advantage of surprise was gone, so it was best to make that first shot most effective.

Another aspect of making each shot count was the limited supply of ammunition carried in World War I aircraft — usually only a few hundred rounds. This could amount to less than 60 seconds of sustained fire. Reloading in the air varied from dangerous to impossible. Spraying the sky with lead in hopes of hitting something, eventually, was not an option. Shots had to be chosen carefully. Early in the war, when a sense of chivalry still held sway, some men allowed their opponents to depart if they were out of ammunition or had jammed guns. Total war did not allow such courtesies to last for long.

4. You should always try to keep your eye on your opponent, and never let yourself be deceived by ruses.
The first part, 'keeping your eye on your opponent,' sounds obvious enough, but it needed to be stated. In the hustle and bustle of an air fight it was easy to lose sight of your adversary. A restatement of this rule might be: never assume you know where your opponent is or will be. If a pilot 'lost' his foe, the advantage shifted to the foe. A successful pilot did not allow himself to be distracted from his opponent. As far as ruses go, it was not an uncommon practice for a pilot to feign being hit, going into a supposedly uncontrolled spin or dive, in order to exit a fight that was not going well. This practice traded on the chivalry of their opponents. To continue hammering a man who was already going down, was thought unsportsmanlike. Boelcke recognized that too many enemies were being allowed to escape and return to fight another day. War for national survival was not sport. He taught against the accepted notion that once a machine began to spin down, that one could move on. If it were a ruse, the enemy pilot would pull out at the last moment and either escape or return to attack, perhaps now having gained the advantage of surprise. Boelcke wanted his pupils to follow their opponent down, and make sure they were out of the fight or resume the fight if necessary.

5. In any type of attack, it is essential to assail your opponent from behind.
Firing at a machine flying across one's path required 'leading' the shot—aiming ahead of a moving target to compensate for its speed. While a few pilots were adept at the mental calculations necessary and good aerial marksmen, most were much less adept. The velocity of a moving gun platform, the speed of bullets plus the speed and direction of a moving target could be a lot to consider in the heat of battle. Furthermore, in deflection firing, the target could cross the stream of fire whose bullets were 50 m (165 ft) or more apart. Such crossing gave less exposure to the bullets.

Head-on attacks or head-to-tail attacks required little or no calculated deflection in aim. A head-on attack, however, exposed one directly to the enemy's guns. It was far safer and more effective to have one's target and bullet stream all traveling in more or less the same direction. This required little or no 'leading,' and exposed the target to a greater concentration of fire.

Because of the prevalence of attacks from the rear, aircraft design adapted to allow for rear firing guns in two-seaters and larger bombers.

6. If your opponent dives on you, do not try to get around his attack, but fly to meet it.
This rule is related to dictum #5 above. The instinctive reaction of many rookies was to turn and flee from an approaching attacker—especially a diving one. This simply presented their tail to the attacker, usually with disastrous results. Boelcke taught that a pilot had to conquer that instinct. Turning to face the attack could force the attacker onto the defensive, or at least keep the situation unsettled, which was far better than presenting your tail. Even though climbing to meet an attack would reduce speed, it was better to try to bring one's own guns to bear than to flee, and approaching the enemy still increases the relative velocity between the two fighters and thus reduces the time during which the enemy can fire. Furthermore, if both fighters miss, the diving attacker must now pull out of his dive, while the defender is now in position to circle around and counter-attack with his own dive.

7. When over the enemy's lines, always remember your own line of retreat.
If a pilot chose to flee a superior force, or was coming down with a damaged machine, it was critical to spend what little time he might have going in the right direction. This rule sounds as though it is stating the obvious, but Boelcke found it necessary to include it. More than a few pilots came down behind enemy lines because they got confused and lost their way. In World War I, aerial navigation was done mostly by sight. Taking regular note of landmarks helped a pilot get his bearings quickly, perhaps making the difference between safety and captivity.

8. Tip for Squadrons: In principle, it is better to attack in groups of four or six. Avoid two aircraft attacking the same opponent.
In the first year or so of World War I, air combat was more of a one-on-one affair. The early aces, like Pégoud, Garros, Boelcke and Immelmann, hunted the skies alone. As the war progressed, the sheer number of machines in the sky increased. Several reconnaissance machines traveled together for mutual protection, further protected by escorting fighters. Boelcke recognized that the days of the lone hunter were over. Many young pilots, however, still came to the front expecting to dash valiantly into battle as an errant knight, alone, but in reality they would be quickly overwhelmed by multiple enemies. Boelcke tirelessly lectured his pupils on the need for teamwork—sometimes scolding them for acting too independently. Attacking in a group allowed the leader to concentrate his attention exclusively on his target, while his wingmen protected his tail.

Air battles later in the war could involve dozens of aircraft from each side at the same time. The sky could become a swirling tangle of machines. When your side was at a numerical disadvantage, it was especially important not to double up on one opponent. The concentrated fire was of dubious value, since you were just as likely to get in each other's way as to hit the enemy. Doubling up also left an enemy machine somewhere unbothered and free to tail one of your side's machines. Later in the war, teamwork became the primary key to success and survival.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Oswald Boelcke of Wikipedia ( authors )
Oswald Boelcke : Your comments on this subject
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