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Description: | obverse design : Flight Commander Oswald Boelcke, bust, left profile, in uniform
obverse text : "OSWALD.BOELCKE" & "+28.OKTOBER.1916+"
reverse design : Fame, personified by a woman, standing facing left, naked except for scarf-like veil. She stands beside a Fokker
monoplane, E type, and holds a sprig of laurel above the empty cockpit. At the upper left of design an eagle flying to left
reverse text : "KAMPF.IN.DEN LVEFTEN" & ".XXXX." (lower edge)
In this restrained and elegiac portrait medal Goetz commemorates the death of Oswald Boelcke (1891-1916), one of
Germany's most widely admired and successful fighter 'aces' of the First World War. Having started his military career in a telegraph unit
in 1911, Boelcke transferred to a flying unit on the outbreak of war. By 1916 he had amassed more 'kills' than any other German pilot, most
of his victories being achieved in the skies above Verdun. He was killed in action on 28 October 1916 when his machine collided with
another during a dogfight with French and British fighters. His disabled machine crash-landed and he was killed on impact. The reverse text
is translated as 'Battle in the air' and the Roman figure 40, at the lower edge, indicates the number of Boelcke's officially recorded
kills. | Publisher: | http://www.iwm.org.uk | Subjects: | Death of & 28/10/1916 Boelcke Western Front Air Operations & Boelcke DE.A & Air Service & Jasta 2 portrait / personification commemorative First World War Oswald | Source: | Imperial War Museum | Creator: | Goetz, Karl | Identifier: | http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/o... | Go to resource |
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