Max Immelmann

Name:

Max Immelmann

Country:

Germany

Rank:

Oberleutnant

Unit:

FA62

Victories:

Born:

21 September 1890

Place of Birth:

Dresden, Germany

Killed In Action:

18 June 1916

Place of Death:

Near Lens, France

Cemetery:

Dresden, Germany

Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke were awarded the Orden Pour le Mérite on 12 January 1916. Later that year, Immelmann was killed in a dogfight with seven British aircraft. His death, like that of many other aces, was controversial. While the British credited the pilot of an F.E.2b with his loss, the Germans proclaimed that the synchronized machine gun on Immelmann's Fokker E.III malfunctioned and he shot his own propellor off. However, after examining the wreckage, Anthony Fokker concluded that Immelmann's aircraft was brought down by German anti-aircraft fire.

With the introduction of aircraft armed with forward firing machine guns, the "Eagle of Lille" laid the foundation for single seat fighter tactics in World War I. Today, Max Immelmann is best remembered for the "Immelmann turn," a half-loop followed by a half-roll.

Immelmann Has "Bagged" Fifteen Enemy Aeros
The Fort Wayne Daily News - Tuesday, May 9, 1916
Airman Is Popular Hero In Germany
The Salt Lake Tribune - Sunday, May 28, 1916
Immelmann Fell 6,000 Feet To Death
The New York Times - Sunday, June 25, 1916
Man Who Killed German Ace Dies
The Syracuse Herald - Sunday, November 04, 1923

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	01 Aug 1915	0615	FA 62		B.E.2c (2003)
2	09 Sep 1915		FA 62		Biplane
3	21 Sep 1915	1000	FA 62		B.E.2c (2004)
4	10 Oct 1915	1500	FA 62		B.E.2c (2033)
5	26 Oct 1915	1005	FA 62		Vickers F.B.5 (5464)
6	07 Nov 1915	1545	FA 62		B.E.2c (1715)
7	15 Dec 1915	a.m.	FA 62		Morane Parasol (5087)
8	12 Jan 1916	0830	FA 62		Vickers F.B.5 (5460)
9	02 Mar 1916	a.m.	FA 62		Morane BB (5137)
10	13 Mar 1916	1255	FA 62		Bristol Scout C (4678)
11	13 Mar 1916	1740	FA 62		B.E.2c (4197)
12	29 Mar 1916	1100	FA 62		F.E.2b (6352)
13	30 Mar 1916	1115	FA 62		B.E.2c (4116)
14	23 Apr 1916	0945	FA 62		Vickers F.B.5 (5079)
15	16 May 1916	1800	FA 62		Bristol Scout C (5301)
16	18 Jun 1916	1700	FA 62		F.E.2b (6940)
17	18 Jun 1916	2145	FA 62		F.E.2b (4909)

Books

Under the Guns of the German Aces: by Norman Franks and Hal Giblin, Grub Street, London, 1997