First German Aviators Awarded Pour le Mérite

Date: January 12, 1916 • Location: Berlin, Germany

Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann became the first German aviators to be awarded the Pour le Mérite, Germany's highest military honour.

Hauptmann Oswald Boelcke was a German professional soldier and pioneering flying ace credited with 40 aerial victories during World War I. Boelcke is honored as the father of the German fighter air force, and of air combat as a whole. He was a highly influential mentor, patrol leader, and tactician in the first years of air combat, 1915 and 1916.