Immelmann

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)

Max Immelmann
September 21, 1890 - June 18, 1916
Max Immelmann and his dog Tyras. Note Immelmann's many decorations.
Nickname	Der Adler von Lille
Place of birth	Dresden
Place of death	Sallaumines
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Army Air Service, forerunner of the Luftwaffe}
Years of service	1914-1916
Rank	Oberleutnant
Unit	FA62
Awards	Prussia: Pour le Mérite Iron Cross, First Class Iron Cross, Second Class Knight's Cross with Swords of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern Saxony: Military Order of St. Henry, Commander's Cross Military Order of St. Henry, Knight's Cross Albert Order, Knight 2nd Class with Swords Silver Friedrich August Medal Bavaria: Military Merit Order 4th Class with Swords Anhalt: Friedrich Cross Hamburg: Hanseatic Cross Germany: Army Pilot's Badge

Max Immelmann (September 21, 1890 – June 18, 1916) was a German World War I flying ace.

Early life

He was born in Dresden, the son of a paper board container factory owner. After leaving school, he joined the Eisenbahnregiment Berlin. During 1913 - 1914, he studied mechanical engineering in Dresden.

Wartime career

When World War I started, Immelmann was recalled to active service, transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte and was sent for pilot training in November 1914. He was initially stationed in northern France as a reconnaissance aviator. On June 3, 1915 he was shot down by a French pilot but managed to land safely behind German lines. He was decorated with the Iron Cross, Second Class for preserving his aircraft.

Immelmann became one of the first German fighter pilots, quickly building an impressive score of air victories. He became known as The Eagle of Lille (Der Adler von Lille). He achieved his first victory, on 1 August 1915:

"Like a hawk, I dived... and fired my machine gun. For a moment, I believed I would fly right into him. I had fired about 60 shots when my gun jammed. That was awkward, for to clear the jam I needed both handfs - I had to fly completely without hands... " ^[1]

Immelmann was the first pilot to be awarded the Pour le Mérite, Germany's highest military honour. The medal became colloquially known as the "Blue Max" in the German Air Service in honor of Immelmann. His medal was presented by Kaiser Wilhelm II in January 1916. Oswald Boelcke received his medal at the same ceremony.

His final victory (his fifteenth) was on 30 March 1916.

Fokker Eindecker

Immelmann will forever be associated with the Fokker Eindecker, Germany's first fighter aircraft, and the first such aircraft to be armed with a machine gun synchronised to fire forward, through the propeller arc. Along with Oswald Boelcke and other pilots, Immelmann was one of the main instigators of the Fokker Scourge which inflicted heavy loses upon British and French aircrews during 1915.

The Immelmann turn

This refers to two quite different aerobatic maneuvers. The first of these is the one now known as an "Immelmann" (also frequently spelled "Immelman", in literature and media).

1. A half loop followed by a half roll on top, used to rapidly reverse the direction of flight (click to see animated illustration). This maneuver would not have been practical in the primitive, underpowered fighters of 1915-16, and its connection with the German fighter ace is most doubtful.
2. During the First World War an "Immelmann turn" was actually a sharp rudder turn off a vertical zoom climb (almost to a full stall) or modified chandelle followed by a steep dive. ^[1]Immelmann may very well have originated this maneuver, or at least used it in combat, although this cannot be authenticated.

Death

Immelmann was killed in combat with F.E.2b aircraft of 25 Squadron Royal Flying Corps over Sallaumines in northern France on June 18, 1916. According to the official British account he was shot down by Second Lieutenant G.R. McCubbin with Corporal J. H. Waller as gunner/observer, and they were credited with the victory.

On the other hand, some sources, including the German Air Service at the time, claimed the loss was due to (friendly) anti-aircraft artillery. Others, including his brother, believed his aircraft's gun synchronisation (designed to enable his machine gun to fire between the whirling propeller blades without damaging them) had catastrophically malfunctioned. This is not in itself unreasonable, as early versions of such gears frequently malfunctioned in this way. In fact it had already happened to Immelmann twice (while testing two and three machine gun installations), although on each occasion he had been able to land successfully[1]. On the other hand, damage to the propeller seems unlikely to have caused the structural failure evident in accounts of the crash of his aircraft.

At 2000 meters the tail was seen to break away from the rest of Immelmann's Fokker E.III (serial 246/16), the wings detached or folded and what remained of the fuselage fell like a stone, carrying the 25 year old Oberleutnant to his death. His body was recovered by German infantry from the twisted wreckage but was only identified because he had his initials "MI" embroidered on his handkerchief.

Max Immelmann has a squadron named after him in the present day Luftwaffe, the German Air Force.

See also

• Aerobatics
• Flying Ace
• Fokker Eindecker
• Fokker Scourge
• Oswald Boelcke
• Pour le Mérite
• Immelmann turn
• Immelmann Loop

References

External links

• Ace Pilots: Immelmann
• First World War: Immelmann
• Spartacus: Immelmann
• Max Immelmann page at theaerodrome.com
• Photo of the wreckage of Immelmann's Fokker E.III