German ace Oswald Bölcke, second from left, marked with an X, was killed in a collision, October 28, 1916 with 40 victories.
Reverse:Bölcke
"— In France, leading light of civilisation, the communiqué never mentions the 'planes which fail to return from battles in the air. The British, on the contrary, do mention them. What is the result? That our communiqués give the impression that all our 'planes return. So when Boelke, the Flying officer, was killed, we were informed that he had just brought down his fortieth 'plane! It is stupefying! There you have a miniature reflection of the amazement people will feel after the war, when they know the truth."
Extract from the entries for November 9, 1916 from the diary of Michel Corday, French senior civil servant. German ace Oswald Bölcke was killed on October 28, 1916, in a mid-air collision with fellow pilot Erwin Böhme during a dogfight. Bölcke and Böhme were both pursuing a British plane when another British plane, chased by Manfred von Richthofen, flew directly across their path. Böhme survived the mishap, but Bölcke could not control his damaged plane, and died when it struck the ground. In his diary, Corday had previously written about the secrecy of the French government and military, and imagined the surprise and dismay when, after the war, the French public learned the truth of the war and its casualties.
The Paris Front: an Unpublished Diary: 1914-1918 by Michel Corday, page 208, copyright © 1934, by E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publisher: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc., publication date: 1934
1916-11-09, 1916, November, Oswald Bölcke, Bölcke, Oswald Boelke, Boelke, Oswald Boelcke, Boelcke,
