Oswald Boelcke (IPA: [ˈbœlkə]; 19 May 1891–28 October 1916) was a German flying ace of the First World War and one of the most influential patrol leaders and tacticians of the early years of air combat. Boelcke is considered the father of the German fighter air force; he was the first to formalize the rules of air fighting, which he presented as the Dicta Boelcke. Germany's premier ace, Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron), had been taught by Boelcke and continued to idolize his late mentor long after he had surpassed Boelcke's tally of victories.

"I am after all only a combat pilot, but Boelcke, he was a hero." (Manfred von Richthofen, September 1917)