Death of Boelcke

Could someone set me straight on the facts of Boelcke's last patrol. I have read 3 different versions and as far as I can assertain, three D.IIs of Jasta 2 (Boelcke, Bohme & MVR) intercepted two DH2s of #24 Squadron (Knight & ?).
In the different scenarios; I have Boelcke turning to avoid colliding with MVR, Boelcke turning to avoid Canadian Lt. Knight; and as MVR saw it from 200yds away (ref: Der Rote Kampfflieger): Bohme and Boelcke colliding due to their own inattention while both are firing on one of the DH2s.
Is there any more versions of this event? Was there more a/c involved in this combat? If not, who was the other DH2? If MVR is to be believed, The DH2 under fire from the guns of both B & B, was about to be downed at any moment. Did this DH2 OOC? If he survived, who was this lucky pilot? Lt. Knight or someone else?
Forgive me if this has been covered in this forum before.
VBR

[Ron_F]

Hi,
Another story is that Böhme was flying wing to Boelcke, and MVR chased a plane a plane, or went after one, in front of them both, Böhme brushed Boelcke and he was ejected or wing popped off. He didnt strap in in one account. This is more or less from Peter Kilduff, both in writing and from Wings channel on JG1.
the book is beyond the legend of the red baron. I havent read the Red baron combat wing or von richthofens and the flying circus yet to see if theres a different version.
Interesting on what u wrote...always gone by the above story.

salute,
Ron F.

This is the version I know:
on october 28, 1916, Boelcke and his squadron were scrambled ti intercept Lanoe Hawker's No.24 Squadron. In his haste to get airborne, the great German tactician had forgotten to strp himself into the cockpit, a mistake born from exaustion that would soon prove fatal. With faithful Erwin Boeheme on his wing, Boelcke led his Jasta up against Hawker's Squadron. Soon, a whirlwind dogfight raged, with planes zipping all over the sky. As usual, Boeheme stayed close to his leader. Suddently, through, Manfred Von Richthofen cut in front of Boelcke, intent on killing a diving DH-2. Boelcke had to swerve to avoid colliding with the prussian. As he did, his wing scuffed Boeheme's Albatros D.II. It was barely a collision, Boeheme reccaled later, but it was enough to be Boelcke's undoing. His Albatros fell out of control toward the front lines below. The master tactician fought his plane all the way down and even managed to make a relatively soft crash landing. But since he was not strapped in, even the modest impact of the crash killed him.
This is what I know, but of course I cannot tell this must be the truth!

the book; knight of germany, by professor johannes werner, is a compilation of letters sent home by oswald boelcke, discribing life at the front. the last chapter talks of the death of boelcke.
the following is an account of the accident by erwin bohme in a letter written on 10.31,1916.
" in the ensuing wild battle of turns, that only let us get a few shots in for brief intervals, we tried to force the english down, by one after another of us barring their way, a manoeuvre we had often practiced successfully. boelcke and i had just got one englishman between us when another opponent, chased by richthofen, cut across us. quick as lightning, boelcke and i both doged him, but for a moment our wings prevented us from seeing anything of one another-and that was the cause of it.
"how am i to describe my sensations from the moment when boelcke suddenly loomed up a few meters away on my right! he put his machine down and i pulled mine up, but we touched as we passed, and we both fell earthwards. it was only just the faintest touch, but the terrific speed at which we were going made it into a violent impact. destiny is generally cruelly stupid in her choices; i only had a bit of my undercarriage ripped, but the exterme tip of his left wing was torn away.
"after falling a couple of hundred meters i regained control of my machine and was then able to observe boelcke's, which i saw heading for our lines in a gentle glide, but dipping a bit on one side. but when he came into a layer of clouds in the lower regions, his machine dipped more and more, owing to the violent gusts there, and i had to look on while he failed to flatten out to land and crashed near a battery position.
"..when we arrived at the scene of the accident in a car, they brought the body along to us. he must have been killed outright at the moment of the crash. boelcke never wore a crash helmet and never strapped himself in tight in an albatros-otherwise he might have survived the crash, which was not too bad a one."

hope this helps. (sorry about the lenght)

leon

Thanks for your replies everyone. Your input was of great help. I tried to interpret the "facts" as best I could and the following page is the result. I hope y'all enjoy it.
I was just happy to see the story had a Canadian twist! <p align="center">

Ya Canadians really kicked ass in WWI.

[Richard_Schrader]

Rosebud;
All of this is very interesting, but the picture of crash scene shows that it was a very violent crash. Only the tail survived to show that the crashed plane was an Albatros. The body of the great Boelcke is laying beside the wreakage. It clearly shows that he is wearing a leather flying helmet. I have another picture that shows Boelcke just before taking off on his final flight, it too shows that he is wearing a helment.

Richard,
The intent of the Boelcke page is to explore the truth. If the participants of this event are not correct in their facts, how are we to know the truth? Are you sure the photo of the crash scene isn't of Immelmann's? If the plane was destroyed, why would all written accounts be the opposite? Please post these photos (or post a link) if possible. I'm sure the real experts around here will be more than willing to give us their opinions as to the authenticity/correct identification of them.
VBR
Rosebud

[stevedrew]

Pilots were Lt. Arthur Gerald Knight and Lt. Alfred Edwin Mckay of 24 Sqn. They were flying DH2's.
MvR writes in "Der Rotte Kampfflieger" ....about 200 yards from me....I noticed an unnatural movement...." He appears to be saying that he observed this event from a small distance away.
From letter from Erwin Bohme..."Boelcke and I had an Englishman right between us, when another opponent pursued by friend Richthofen cut in front of us..."
From letter MvR to Mother 3 Nov 16..."Nothing happened to the other fellow (Bohme). At first Boelcke went down normally. I followed him immediately..."
From "Der Rotte Kampfflieger"..."I had not the feeling that he was falling, but when I saw him descending below me I noticed that part of his planes had broken off..."
Hope it helps. These controversies will never be satisfactorily settled.

[Reinout]

Rosebud,

The crash pic is obviously of an Albatros as the tailplane has survived (it's the only thing recognisable). A few months ago I launched a thread that discussed the quote of Erwin Böhme about Boelcke never wearing a helmet or strapping himself in in an Albatros, but frankly I don't believe that. So many pics show us a Boelcke with a helmet, so the statement about never wearing helmets falls through. About the strapping in, we can be less definite, but as I doubt the word of Erwin (I am sorry to say) on one remark, how can I be convinced he spoke the truth about the other? In his defense we must say that he himself has admitted that he didn't really know what was going on until a day after, such was the shock.

Besides, as did Gontermann die from impact with the gunbutts -his crash was also reported to be mild- so did Boelcke in my view. Lapstraps don't protect the body from being launched forwards to the gunbutts as a shoulder harness would (or at least try to - Gontermann had no such luck).

Try and look through the Forum Archives for a thread called "Crash hypothesis on Oswald Boelcke" or something like that.

Kind regards,

Reinout