Description
Pre-owned. Von Richtofen’s mentor and hero, Boelcke died in 1916 aged just 25, in a crash with a fellow German pilot over Douai; he had amassed 40 victories. His biographer, Brigadier General R. G. Head USAF, remarks that Boelcke “deserves consideration as the most important fighter pilot of any era, including the present one. His character, inspirational leadership, organisational genius, development of air-to-sir tactics, and impact on aerial doctrine still resonate in modern air forces around the world. He is the central figure in air warfare across a century of history” (Oswald Boelcke: Germany’s First Fighter Ace and Father of Air Combat, 2016, p. 13). Small Octavo. Original dark blue grained cloth, gilt lettered spine and front cover, the latter with a red border and stamp of a Fokker Eindecker in red. Half-tone portrait frontispiece of Boelcke, 12 illustrations (Largely from photographs) on 6 plates. Jacket with nicks, chips and tears, extensive paper repairs to verso. An excellent copy, bright and sharp, in a rather “war-torn” example of the original jacket. First edition in English, also appearing in the same year with the imnprint of the National Mili8tary Publishing Co., this Deutchland Library Co. imprint being the more scarce, with WorldCat citing copies at just five US institutional libraries; it was originally published as Hauptmann Boelckes Feldberichte (Berlin 1916). Contains a detailed description and valuation by Peter Harrington, London. Published by Deutchland Library Co 1917