Oswald Boelcke: Germany's First Fighter Ace and Father of Air Combat

R.G. Head

elo 2016 · Grub Street Publishers

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This biography of the pioneering WWI flying ace who mentored the Red Baron is “fascinating . . . [it] captures combat aviation at its inception” (MiG Sweep: The Magazine of Aviation Warriors).
 
With a total of forty victories, Oswald Boelcke was Germany’s first ace in World War I—and a century later he remains a towering figure in the history of air warfare, renowned for his character, inspirational leadership, organizational genius, development of air-to-air tactics, and impact on aerial doctrine.
 
Paving the way for modern air forces across the world with his pioneering strategies, Boelcke had a dramatic effect on his contemporaries. The famed Red Baron’s mentor, instructor, squadron commander, and friend, he exerted a tremendous influence upon the German air force. He was one of the first pilots to be awarded the famous Pour le Mérite, commonly recognized as the “Blue Max.” All of this was achieved after overcoming medical obstacles in childhood and later life with willpower and determination.
 
Boelcke even gained the admiration of his enemies: After his tragic death in a midair collision, Britain’s Royal Flying Corps dropped a wreath on his funeral, and several of his captured foes sent another wreath from their German prison camp. His name and legacy live on, as seen in the Luftwaffe’s designation of the Tactical Air Force Wing 31 “Boelcke.” This definitive biography reveals his importance as a fighter pilot who set the standard in military aviation.
 

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R.G. Head graduated from the US Air Force Academy. At Syracuse University he graduated with an MPA and a PhD. He taught political science at the Air Force Academy and edited American defense policy. He was a distinguished graduate from the National War College, where he co-authored, Crisis Resolution: Presidential Decision-Making. While a military fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, he published "Technology and the Military Balance" in Foreign Affairs. Head was a fighter pilot flying the F-100 Super Sabre, the A-1 Skyraider, and the F-4 Phantom II, earning the Top Gun Award in advanced fighter training. He flew 325 combat missions over Vietnam. Later, he became the squadron commander of F-4s in the Philippines. He was a policy analyst for the secretary of defense and the joint chiefs of staff, Washington, DC. He commanded NATO forces and has over three-thousand flying hours. His second career was as a vice president for Space Operations and Environmental Services, with contracts for US Space Command and the navy. He retired in 2007 and lives with his wife in Coronado, California, where he captains a racing sailboat and builds models for the San Diego Air & Space Museum.