Erwin Böhme Erwin Böhme ( 29 July 1879 – 29 November 1917 ) , Pour le Mérite , was a German pilot during World War I . He was born in Holzminden , grew into an athletic sportsman and became a flying ace during the war , credited with 24 victories . He was both a close friend and a military subordinate of Oswald Boelcke and was inadvertently responsible for Boelcke ' s death . Böhme was also both a contemporary of and eventually subordinate to the Red Baron . Prewar life . Böhme was the second of five sons in his family ; he also had a sister . He qualified as an engineer , attending technical college in Dortmund . He reported for national service with the Garde - Jäger Regiment in 1899 . He was an athletic youth , participating in many sports . He was a superb ice skater and a champion swimmer . On 30 July 1905 , he outswam all other entrants in a race across Lake Zurich , covering a three mile distance in 52 minutes , 40 seconds . He was also a great mountain climber , during the three years he lived in Switzerland , he was the only non - Swiss member of the Swiss alpinists ' guild . Tiring of Switzerland he decided to search for adventure in Africa . He was corresponding with a Swiss African explorer , Dr . David . Böhme hiked from Bern , Switzerland to catch a ship in Genoa , Italy . This foot journey included a solo traverse of the Matterhorn . He reached German East Africa to discover Dr . David had died , and so began work there in 1910 for a German lumber and agricultural company . He helped construct the cable railroad from the Usambara railroad , in modern - day Tanzania , to New Hornow in the Pare Mountains . The cableway was used to ship cedar to the Hubertus lumber mills in Germany , who prepared it for use in producing pencils . In July 1914 , Böhme returned to Europe , intent on skiing and mountaineering in the Swiss Alps . On the outbreak of war , instead of continuing on to neutral Switzerland , he returned to Germany to enter military service . Flying service . Böhme returned to service in his former military unit . He requested transfer into aviation ; it may be that his prior service and athleticism helped expedite his entry into pilot ' s training despite his comparatively advanced age of 36 . His adventurous and aggressive spirit may have also impressed the recruiters . He was assigned initially to Doberitz , then to Lindenthal for flight training . He was first in his class to qualify as a pilot in December 1914 . He was then assigned to as an instructor for the next year before being assigned to an active unit as an Offizierstellevertreter . He joined " Kampstaffel 10 " near Metz , commanded by Wilhelm Boelcke , in December 1915 . Albatros C . III serial number 766 / 16 , which Böhme flew in , had a fierce dragon painted on the right side of its fuselage and a crocodilian monster on the other . Böhme commented that they " . . . made a terrifying impression on the Russian peasants . " On 5 March 1916 , Wilhelm Boelcke ' s more famous brother visited , and Böhme met him . Oswald Boelcke , one of the first air aces , had already won the Pour le Merite in January . Later that month , Böhme fought his first dogfights against a couple of French Farmans and a Nieuport scout . By May 1916 , Böhme was already a veteran of aerial warfare ; he had flown numerous barrage , defensive patrols and bombing missions . He was promoted to Leutnant der Reserve ( lieutenant of reserves ) in this same month . On 20 May , he wangled an aircraft ride to drop in on the director of Hubertus Mills , to help celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary . On this trip , he met the director ' s eldest daughter and began a correspondence with her that led to their engagement in October 1917 . Their letters became the basis for a posthumous book , " Briefe eines deutschen Kampffliegers an ein junges Mädchen ( Letters of a German Combat Pilot to a Young Girl ) " , published in 1930 . " Kasta 10 " moved eastward to the Russian Front in June to Kovel ; by now one of his comrades was a cavalry officer named Manfred von Richthofen . On 2 August 1916 , while flying an Albatros C . III , Böhme scored his first aerial victory with Kasta 10 , a Nieuport 12 flown by ace Podporuchik ( 2nd Lieutenant ) Eduard Pulpe of the Imperial Russian Air Service . Pulpe fell near Rogistche on the Eastern Front . After this victory , Böhme was transferred to Jasta 2 under the command of Oswald Boelcke . Boelcke , was not only a well - established ace but was pioneering the tactics and strategy of fighter aviation . He had " carte blanche " to recruit such pilots as he wished . He had asked for , among others , both Manfred von Richthofen and Böhme . Boelcke and Böhme became best friends . Under Boelcke ' s tutelage and leadership , Böhme thrived as a fighter pilot . He scored his first victory with Jasta 2 on 17 September 1916 , downing a Sopwith 2 - seater of 70 Squadron , RFC and by 22 October had five confirmed wins and one probable . Death of Boelcke . Then came the tragedy that forever linked Böhme ' s name with Boelcke . During their sixth mission on 28 October 1916 , Böhme , Boelcke , von Richthofen , and three other pilots from Jasta 2 attacked two DH - 2 scouts from No . 24 Squadron . In the scrambled attack in gusty weather , Richthofen was cut out of his firing approach on one British plane by an interposed German plane . Böhme and Boelcke were both closing on the other . Boelcke had to swerve to avoid a mid - air collision in the dogfight and Böhme ' s Albatros briefly collided with that of Boelcke . The wheels of Böhme ' s plane barely brushed the fabric of the top wing of Boelcke ' s craft , enough to start the fabric unraveling . Boelcke struggled for control as his plane ' s control surface shredded in the turbulence . He skillfully crashlanded after the entire upper wing tore loose . However , in his haste to be airborne he had not fastened his seat belt . Boelcke was killed by his relatively mild impact . Böhme survived the accident , as he had suffered only a landing gear damage . After landing , a despairing Böhme was discovered in his quarters with his pistol in his hand . Manfred von Richthofen had to talk him out of suicide . That same evening , a British flier dropped a wreath stating " To the Memory of Captain Boelcke , our Brave and Chivalrous Opponent . From the English Royal Flying Corps . " Three days later , Böhme wrote the following letter to his fiance : " My Dear Miss Annamarie ! 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 metres 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 metres 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 . For your last letter with the flower greetings I thank you very much . I was very happy about it , but as to the reply , I must still allow some time – the experience of October 28 rests too heavily upon me . Faithfully yours , Erwin Böhme " Return to duty . Böhme returned to duty . He shot down two more British planes in November ; an FE - 8 " pusher " of 40 Squadron and a Morane Parasol of 3 Squadron flown by the highly decorated Lt . E . M . Roberts ( MC , DFC , DCM ) , who crashed in Allied lines . On 26 December , he shot down and severely wounded future Canadian 12 - victory ace Lt . William Henry Hubbard flying a BE - 2c of 5 Squadron , for his eighth victory . Böhme next shot down a DH - 2 of 32 Squadron , RFC on 7 January 1917 , for his ninth . He was then ordered on leave , and spent it hiking in the Bavarian Alps . Upon hearing of casualties in the Jasta Böhme cut his leave short and returned to duty . For his tenth victory , he forced down the DH - 2 of 6 - victory ace Captain William Curphey of No . 32 Squadron on 4 February , who was fatally wounded . ( Hpt . Franz Walz , CO of Jasta 2 , also claimed tis DH - 2 ) . Böhme downed a two - seater 25 minutes later . On 10 February , he claimed his 12th victim , another DH - 2 of 32 Squadron , which force - landed in Allied lines . During a dogfight on the 11th with Sopwith ' Strutters ' , he was wounded in the arm . By the start of April 1917 , Böhme wrote home that only he and Manfred von Richthofen were left alive from the original Jasta 2 founder members of 1916 . By 8 April , he had recovered enough to teach at " Jastaschule I " at Valenciennes Aerodrome until 2 July when he was given command of Jagdstaffel 29 based at Bersee , North West of Douai and covering the German 4th Army . Böhme was wounded in his hand on 10 August while attacking an observation aircraft , and was attacked by a SPAD fighter of SPA 3 , possibly flown by Adj . Rene Fonck . The tendon of his right index finger — his trigger finger — was severed . While recovering , Böhme was posted as Commanding Officer to Jasta 2 , effective from 18 August 1917 . On 19 September , Böhme began his final series of claims , scoring twice in September and six times in October , bringing his total to 21 victories . On 28 October , he attended ceremonies in Dessau to honor the first anniversary of Oswald Boelcke ' s death . The next day he travelled to Hamburg to propose marriage to Anna - Marie Bruning . She accepted despite her father ' s belief that Böhme might not survive the war . On 31 October , Böhme visited Manfred von Richthofen . His flight home was interrupted by an attack by an 84 Squadron Royal Aircraft Factory SE . 5 a , which he quickly downed for his 21st triumph . He next scored victories on 6 and 20 November 1917 . On the 24th , he was awarded the " Pour le Mérite " , his nation ' s highest decoration for bravery . Death in action . On 29 November , Böhme took off on his last mission . Böhme had already claimed an unidentified Sopwith Camel earlier that day . His five - strong flight spotted a Royal Flying Corps Armstrong Whitworth F . K . 8 of No . 10 Squadron on a photo - reconnaissance mission near Zonnebeke , Belgium . Veteran pilot Captain John Patten should have been preparing for home leave , but had decided to fly one more mission . Observer Lieutenant Philip Leychester manned the camera and the gun . Patten tells the story : " Suddenly , I heard the clatter of Leycester ' s machine gun above the roar of the engine . I looked round to see what he was shooting at , and nearly had a heart attack . Slanting down from above , getting nicely into position thirty yards behind my tail , was an Albatros . " I immediately heaved the old A - W round in a split - arse turn , tighter I think than I had ever turned before . I felt a flash of panic as I lost sight of the Hun , but Leycester must have been able to see him all right as he kept on firing . My sudden turn had done the trick . The Albatros overshot and suddenly appeared right in front of me . Because of the relative motion of our two aircraft , he seemed to hang motionless , suspended in mid - air . I could see the pilot ' s face as he looked back at me . I sent a two - second burst of Vickers ( machine gun ) fire into him . His aircraft seemed to flutter , then slid out of sight below my starboard wing . I was pretty certain that I had hit his petrol tank . Behind me , Leycester was still blazing away . He was using tracer ( incendiary bullets ) , and it may have been one of his bullets that ignited the petrol pouring from the Hun ' s ruptured tank . When I caught sight of the Albatros again , it was burning like a torch and side - slipping towards the ground , trailing a streamer of smoke . For an instant I saw the German pilot , looking down over the side of the cockpit . Then the smoke and flames enveloped him . " Oberleutnant Erwin Böhme ' s charred body was recovered from the wreckage and buried with full military honors by the British . Because he had fallen behind their lines , they took the responsibility of interring him in Keerselaarhock Cemetery . He was reinterred at Hinter den Linden after the war . The location of his grave has since been lost .