Icarus

Icarus by Russell Smith

Giclee prints on paper...$175.00
Edition size of 250
Print size: 28" x 16.5 "
Image area 24” x 12”
S/N by Artist 

Special Blue Max Giclee prints on canvas...$553.00
Edition size of 20
Canvas size: 46" x 23"
S/N by Artist 

Oswald Boelcke is considered the father of the German fighter air force, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics”. He was the first to formalize rules of air fighting, which he presented as the Dicta Boelcke. His theories on air combat are still relevant and are still used by modern military pilots. Credited with 40 victories, he was respected and revered on both side of the lines and served as a mentor to many early German WWI pilots, including Manfred von Richthofen, who continued to idolize Boelke until his own death in 1918.

Boelcke was killed on Oct. 28, 1916 while flying an afternoon sortie - his sixth of the day - with Erwin Böhme and Manfred von Richthofen. While diving to attack a patrol of British DH2s, Boelcke and Böhme momentarily lost sight of each other. Böhme's landing gear brushed Boelcke's upper wing causing pieces of the wing to slowly break away. Boelcke managed to bring the aircraft down in what amounted to a controlled crash, but as his wheels touched the ground the Albatros flipped on its back and Boelcke’s skull was crushed. 

Oswald Boelcke was only 25 years old