9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

Max Immelmann
Max Immelmann (21 September 1890 – 18 June 1916) PLM
Max Immelmann
was the first German World War I flying ace.[1] He was a
pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited
with the first aerial victory using a synchronized gun, which
was actually performed on 15 July 1915 by German ace Kurt
Wintgens. He was the first aviator to win the Pour le Mérite
(colloquially known as the "Blue Max" in his honor), and was
awarded it at the same time as Oswald Boelcke. His name has
become attached to a common flying tactic, the Immelmann
turn, and remains a byword in aviation. He is credited with 15
aerial victories.

Contents
Early life
Wartime career
Death
Grave robbery and desecration
Legacy
Promotion record and regimental assignments
Orders and medals Max Immelmann in 1916

Fokker Eindecker Nickname(s) Der Adler von Lille

(The Eagle of Lille)
The Immelmann turn
Born 21 September 1890

See also
Dresden, Kingdom of
References Saxony, German
Notes
Empire
Citations
Died 18 June 1916
Bibliography
(aged 25)

External links Lens, Pas-de-Calais,

France

Early life Allegiance  German Empire

Service/ Imperial German Army
Max Immelmann was born on 21 September 1890, in Dresden, branch Die Fliegertruppen des
to an industrialist father who died when Max was young. In deutschen
1905, he was enrolled in the Dresden Cadet School. He joined Kaiserreiches (Imperial
the Eisenbahnregiment (Railway Regiment) Nr. 2 in 1911 as
German Army Air
an Ensign,[2] in pursuit of a commission. He left the army in
Service)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 1/10
9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

March 1912 to study mechanical engineering in Dresden. He Years of 1911–1912 (Army)

returned to service on the outbreak of war, as a reserve officer service
candidate. He was assigned to Eisenbahnregiment Nr. 1, but 1914–1916 (Army Air
soon transferred to aviation.[3] Service)
Rank Oberleutnant
Wartime career Unit Eisenbahnregiment Nr.
2, Eisenbahnregiment
When World War I Nr. 1, FEA 2, FFA 10,
started, Immelmann was FAA 62
called to active service,
Awards Prussia:
transferred to the German
Army's air arm, Die
Pour le Mérite
Fliegertruppe des
Deutschen Kaiserreiches Iron Cross, First
(later known as the Class
Luftstreitkräfte) and was Iron Cross,
sent for pilot training at Second Class
Johannisthal Air Field[3] Knight's Cross
in November 1914.[2] He with Swords of
was initially stationed in the Royal House
Immelmann's first Eindecker,
northern France. Order of
E.13/15 Hohenzollern
Immelmann served as a
pilot with Feldflieger
Saxony:
Abteilung (Field Flier
Detachment) 10 from February to April 1915, and then in FFA
Military Order of
62 by early May 1915. On several occasions he engaged in
St. Henry,
combat while flying the L.V.G. two-seaters with which his
Commander's
units were equipped, but never with any success.[1] On 3 June
1915, he was shot down by a French pilot, but managed to land Cross
safely behind German lines. Immelmann was decorated with Military Order of
the Iron Cross, Second Class, for preserving his aircraft.[3] St. Henry,
Knight's Cross
Two very early examples of the Fokker Eindecker fighters were Albert Order,
delivered to the unit, one Fokker M.5K/MG production Knight 2nd Class
prototype numbered E.3/15 for Oswald Boelcke's use, with
with Swords
Immelmann later in July receiving E.13/15 as a production
Silver Friedrich
Fokker E.I for his own use before the end of July. It was with
the E.13/15 aircraft, armed with the synchronized lMG 08 August Medal
Spandau machine gun, that he gained his first confirmed air
victory of the war on 1 August 1915, a fortnight after Leutnant Bavaria:
Kurt Wintgens obtained the very first confirmed German
Military Merit
aerial victory on 15 July 1915 with his own Fokker M.5K/MG
Order 4th Class
production prototype E.5/15 Eindecker,[4] one of five built,
following two unconfirmed ones on 1 and 4 July, all before with Swords
Immelmann:[1]
Anhalt:

Like a hawk, I Friedrich Cross

dived  ... and
fired my Hamburg:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 2/10
9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

machine gun. Hanseatic Cross

For a moment,
I believed I Germany:
would fly right
into him. I had Army Pilot's
fired about 60 Badge
shots when my
gun jammed.
That was
awkward, for
to clear the jam
I needed both
hands  – I had
to fly
completely
without
hands ...[5]

Silver beaker given to Immelmann,Lieutenant William Reid fought back valiantly, flying with his left
Bundeswehr Military History hand and firing a pistol with his right. Nonetheless, the 450
Museum bullets fired at him took their effect; Reid suffered four wounds in
his left arm, and his airplane's engine quit, causing a crash
landing. The unarmed Immelmann landed nearby, and
approached Reid; they shook hands and Immelmann said to the British pilot "You are my prisoner"
and pulled Reid out of the wreckage and rendered first aid.[6]

Immelmann became one of the first German fighter pilots, quickly building an impressive score of air
victories. During September, three more victories followed, and then in October he became solely
responsible for the air defense of the city of Lille. Immelmann became known as The Eagle of Lille
(Der Adler von Lille).[1]

Immelmann flirted with the position of Germany's leading ace, trading that spot off with Oswald
Boelcke, another pioneer ace. Having come second to Boelcke for his sixth victory, he was second to
be awarded the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern for this feat. On 15 December, Immelmann shot
down his seventh British plane and moved into an unchallenged lead in the competition to be
Germany's leading ace.[7]

Immelmann was the first pilot to be awarded the Pour le Mérite, Germany's highest military honour,
receiving it on the day of his eighth win,[8] 12 January 1916.[2] The medal became unofficially known
as the "Blue Max" in the German Air Service in honor of Immelmann.[9] His medal was presented by
Kaiser Wilhelm II on 12 January 1916. Oswald Boelcke received his medal at the same time.[8][10]

Boelcke scored again two days later. Immelmann would chase him in the ace race for the next four
months, drawing even on 13 March at 11 each, losing the lead on the 19th, regaining it on Easter
Sunday (23 April) 14 to 13, losing it again forever on 1 May.[11] It was about this time, on 25 April, that
Immelmann received a salutary lesson in the improvement of British aircraft. As the German ace
described his attack on two Airco DH.2s, "The two worked splendidly together ... and put 11 shots into
my machine. The petrol tank, the struts on the fuselage, the undercarriage and the propeller were
hit ... It was not a nice business."[12][13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 3/10
9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

On 31 May, Immelmann, Max von Mulzer, and another German pilot attacked a formation of seven
British aircraft. Immelmann was flying a two-gun Fokker E.IV, and when he opened fire, the
synchronizing gear malfunctioned. A stream of bullets cut off the tip of a propeller blade. The
thrashing of the unbalanced air screw nearly shook the aircraft's twin-row Oberursel U.III engine
loose from its mounts before he could cut the ignition and glide to a dead-stick landing.[14]

Death
In the late afternoon of 18 June 1916, Immelmann led a flight of
four Fokker E.III Eindeckers in search of a flight of eight F.E.2b
fighter/reconnaissance aircraft of 25 Squadron Royal Flying
Corps over Sallaumines in northern France. The British flight had
just crossed the lines near Arras, with the intent of photographing
the German infantry and artillery positions within the area, when
Immelmann's flight intercepted them. After a long-running fight,
scattering the participants over an area of some 30 square miles, Tomb – Max Immelmann – Dresden
Immelmann brought down one of the enemy aircraft, wounding Tolkewitz
both the pilot and observer. This was his 16th victory claim,
though it was to go unconfirmed.[2]

At 21:45 that same evening, Immelmann in Fokker E.III, serial

246/16 encountered No. 25 Squadron again, this time near the
village of Lens. Immediately, he got off a burst which hit RFC Lt.
J.R.B. Savage, pilot of F.E.2b pusher serial 4909, mortally
wounding him.[15] This was his 17th victory claim, though Max
Mulzer was later credited with the victory. The second aircraft he
"Der Adler von Lille" – Tomb
closed on was piloted by Second Lieutenant G.R. McCubbin with
Immelmann – Dresden –
Corporal J. H. Waller as gunner/observer, and was credited by
the British with shooting Immelmann down.[2] On the German
side, many had seen Immelmann as invincible and could not
conceive the notion that he had fallen to enemy fire. Meanwhile, British authorities awarded
McCubbin the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Service Medal and sergeant's
stripes for Waller.[16]

The German Air Service at the time claimed the loss was due to (friendly) anti-aircraft fire.[17] Others,
including Immelmann's brother, believed his aircraft's gun synchronisation (designed to enable his
machine gun to fire between the whirling propeller blades without damaging them) had
malfunctioned with catastrophic results.[18] This is not unreasonable, as early versions of such gears
frequently malfunctioned in this way. Indeed, this had already happened to Immelmann twice before,
while testing two- and three-machine gun installations, although on each occasion, he had been able
to land safely.[17] McCubbin, in a 1935 interview, claimed that immediately after Immelmann shot
down McCubbin's squadron mate, the German ace began an Immelmann turn, McCubbin and Waller
swooped down from a greater altitude and opened fire, and the pioneer German ace fell out of the sky.
Waller also pointed out later that the British bullets could have hit Immelmann's propeller.[19]

Damage to the propeller resulting in the loss of one blade could have been the primary cause of the
structural failure evident in accounts of the crash of his aircraft. The resultant vibration of an engine
at full throttle spinning half a propeller could have shaken the fragile craft to pieces. At 2,000 meters,
the tail was seen to break away from the rest of Immelmann's Fokker, the wings detached or
folded,[20] and what remained of the fuselage fell straight down, carrying the 25-year-old

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 4/10
9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

Oberleutnant to his death. His body was recovered by the German 6 Armee from the twisted
wreckage, lying smashed and lifeless over what was left of the surprisingly intact Oberursel engine
(sometimes cited as under it), but was only identified because he had his initials embroidered on his
handkerchief.

Immelmann was given a state funeral and buried in his home of Dresden. His body was later
exhumed, however, and cremated in the Dresden-Tolkewitz Crematorium. Immelmann, along with
Max Ritter von Mulzer, scored all of his victories flying only different types of Eindeckers, becoming
one of the most successful pilots in the type.

Grave robbery and desecration

During the night of Sunday 31 January 2021, Max Immelmann's
memorial grave in Tolkewitz was robbed and desecrated. The
Pöppelmann grave figure "Eagle of Lille" (weighing around 100
kilograms, and approximately 180 centimetres in height) was
dismantled and taken away by two men using a handcart to
transport it to a pick-up truck parked nearby. A local resident
observed the robbery and informed the police, who are also
investigating the two suspects in connection with other thefts.[21]
The public prosecutor's office in Dresden, which brought charges
against the alleged perpetrators, estimated the value of the grave
figure at around 50,000 euros. After restoration the figure was
returned to Immelmann's grave.[22][23]

A number of historically significant First World War artefacts

have been stolen from the graves of soldiers in the Tolkewitz
cemetery during 2021, with a suspicion of possible "theft to
order".[24]

Legacy
The present-day Luftwaffe has dubbed Squadron AG-51 the The grave following the robbery and
"Immelmann Squadron" in his honour. desecration

Promotion record and regimental

assignments
Cadet, Dresden Cadet School, 1905–1912[2]
Fähnrich mit Portepee (Swordknot Ensign), Eisenbahn-Regiment Nr 2 (2nd Railway Regiment), 4
April 1911[25]
Pilot in training, Aviation Replacements Section, 12 November 1914 – 31 March 1915; received
Imperial German Pilot's Badge
Assigned, FA (Flieger-Abteilung) 10, Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches (Flying
Section 10, Imperial German Flying Corps), February – 28 April 1915[26]
Assigned, FA 62, 28 April 1915–1916[27]
Leutnant (Second Lieutenant), Royal Saxony Army Reserves, 14 July 1915[28]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 5/10
9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

("Full") Oberleutnant, Royal Saxon Army (active list), April 1916[N 1]

Orders and medals

 Kingdom of Saxony

Military Order of St. Henry, Knight Commander, 30 March 1916, after his 12th and 13th
victories[30]
Military Order of St. Henry, Knight, 21 September 1915[31]
Albert Order, Knight's Cross with Swords[32]
Silver Friedrich August Medal, "For Gallantry in the Face of the Enemy", 15 July 1915[33]

 Kingdom of Prussia /  German Empire

Pour le Mérite, 12 January 1916, after his eighth victory[34]

Iron Cross, First Class, 1 August 1915,[35] after his first victory
Iron Cross, Second Class, 3 June 1915,[36] after flying a successful reconnaissance mission with
Lt. von Teubern (observer)
Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords, November 1915[37]

Miscellaneous German

Hanseatic Cross (Hamburg), 15 March 1916, after flying aerial defense for the Mayor of
Hamburg[38]

Military Merit Order(Bavaria), Fourth Class, ca. 6–12 December 1915[39]

Other

The Turkish War Medal of 1915 (Ottoman Empire), April/May 1916[N 2]

Imtiyaz Medal in Silver (Ottoman Empire), April/May 1916[N 3]

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. Immelmann, along with Oswald Boelcke and other pilots, was one of the main
exponents of the Fokker Eindecker, resulting in the Fokker Scourge which inflicted heavy losses upon
British and French aircrews during 1915.[41]

Initially, Immelmann shared the same E.3/15 machine with Oswald Boelcke, but late in the summer
of 1915 would receive his own machine, bearing the IdFlieg serial number E.13/15 on its fuselage.
Both the E.3/15 machine earlier shared with Boelcke, and his own E.13/15 aircraft, both used to
secure Immelmann's first five victories between them each had a seven-cylinder 80 horsepower
Oberursel U.0 rotary engine for their power. According to Immelmann, the later E.13/15 aircraft was
retired and shipped off to Berlin for display at the Zeughaus Museum, in March 1916.,[42] but was
wrecked in the first bombing raids of the Royal Air Force in 1940, during World War II.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 6/10
9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

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. This
maneuver may not have been practical in the primitive, underpowered fighters of 1915–1916, and
its connection with the German fighter ace is doubtful.[N 4][43]
2. During World War I, 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. Immelmann may very
well have originated this maneuver, or at least used it in combat, although this cannot be
authenticated.[5]

See also
Aerobatics
Flying Ace
Fokker Eindecker
Fokker Scourge
Oswald Boelcke
Pour le Mérite
Immelmann turn
Immelmann Loop
Kurt Wintgens

References

Notes
1. In a letter to his mother, dated 24 April 1916, Immelmann described his regular army commission
as "a promotion from subaltern to full lieutenant."[29]
2. In his last letter to his mother, dated 18 May 1916, the Turkish War Medal of 1915 was also known
as the "Gallipoli Star" among Commonwealth nations and in Germany, it was frequently referred
to as the "Eiserner Halbmond" ("Iron Crescent") as it functioned as the Ottoman equivalent to the
Iron Cross.[40]
3. In his last letter to his mother, dated 18 May 1916, Immelmann mistakenly referred to it as the
"Imbias Medal in Silver", due either to a simple misspelling or misinterpretation of language. The
medal bears no western verbiage, and he was likely attempting to decipher the award document
(also mentioned in his letter) that were, of course, written in Turkish, using Arabic script .[40]
4. Among other characteristics required for the performance of an "Immelmann" in the modern
aerobatic sense is very precise lateral (roll) control – see Wheeler (especially Chapter IV, pp 27–
35) for a discussion of the lack of this degree of control in early aircraft, especially wire-braced
monoplanes.

Citations
1. Shores, 1983, p. 10.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 7/10
9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

2. Franks et al. 1993, pp. 134–135.

3. van Wyngarden 2006, p. 13.
4. VanWyngarden, pg.12
5. Thompson and Smith 2008, p. 59.
6. van Wyngarden 2006, pp. 14–15.
7. van Wyngarden 2006, pp. 28–29.
8. van Wyngarden 2006, p. 30.
9. "A Brief History of the Pour le Merite (The Blue Max)." (http://www.speedace.info/medal.htm)
speedace.info. Retrieved: 11 October 2010.
10. "Pour le Merite." (http://www.pourlemerite.org/) pourlemeritye.org. Retrieved: 23 April 2010.
11. van Wyngarden 2006, p. 37.
12. van Wyngarden 2006, p. 51.
13. Guttman 1983, p. 32.
14. van Wyngarden 2006, p. 56.
15. vanWyngarden, Greg (2006). Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #73: Early German Aces of World War
1. Botley, Oxford UK & New York City, USA: Osprey Publishing. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-84176-997-4.
16. Guttman 1983, pp. 27–29.
17. "Max Immelmann." (http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/ger_immelmann.html) acepilots.com. Retrieved:
10 October 2010.
18. Guttman 1983, p. 28.
19. Guttman 1983, pp. 28–29.
20. "Immelmann's Death.." (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1623584) The Argus (Melbourne,
Victoria: 1848–1956), 5 July 1916, p. 9 via National Library of Australia. Retrieved: 29 November
2012.
21. MDR – Sachsen Dresden – Grabfigur Friedhof Tolkewitz gestohlen (https://www.mdr.de/sachsen/
dresden/dresden-radebeul/grabfigur-friedhof-tolkewitz-gestohlen-100.html)
22. MDR.de – Sachsen Dresden News – Staatsanwaltschaft – Anklage nach Grabschändung und
Diebstahl in Dresden (https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen/dresden/dresden-radebeul/anklag
e-grabschaendung-dresden-100.html)
23. Dresden.de – Rathaus Pressemitteilung – „Adler von Lille“ kehrt auf den Urnenhain zurück –
Meldung vom 17.06.2021 (https://www.dresden.de/de/rathaus/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/2021/
06/pm_072.php)
24. Tag24.de – Dresden Crime -Einzigartige Skulpturen und Bronzen weg – Militante Grabräuber
plündern Friedhof (https://www.tag24.de/dresden/crime/einzigartige-skulpturen-und-bronzen-weg-
militante-grabraeuber-pluendern-friedhof-1737622)
25. Immelmann 2009. p. 34.
26. Immelmann 2009, p. 65; described by his brother, Franz, as "a 'guest performance' of only 13
days."
27. Immelmann 2009, p. 70, letter to his mother, dated 6 May 1915.
28. Immelmann 2009, p. 101, telegram mentioned in letter to mother, dated 31 July 1915.
29. Immelmann 2009, pp. 173–174.
30. Immelmann, p. 170, letter to his mother dated 8 April 1916.
31. Immelmann 2009, p. 127, letter to mother, dated 28 October 1915.
32. Immelmann 2009, p. 172, mentioned in a list of his awards he enumerated for his mother in his
letter dated 8 April 1916.
33. Immelmann 2009, p. 99, letter to mother, dated 31 July 1915.
34. Immelmann 2009, p. 148, excerpted official military communiqué, dated 13 January 1916.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 8/10
9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

35. Immelmann 2009, p. 105, message from General der Infanterie Kurt von Pritzelwitz, commander
of the VI Armee-Korps, mentioned in letter to his mother, dated 3 August 1915.
36. Immelmann 2009, p. 88, letter to mother from Douai, dated 3 June 1915.
37. Immelmann 2009, p. 137, citing a telegram from Minister of War Falkenhayn, in a letter to his
mother, dated 17 November 1915.
38. Immelmann 2009, p. 165, letter to his mother, dated 8 April 1916.
39. Immelmann 2009, p. 143, letter to his mother dated 20 December 1915.
40. Immelmann 2009, p. 179.
41. Franks, Norman. Sharks among Minnows: Germany's First Fighter Pilots and the Fokker
Eindecker Period, July 1915 to September 1916. London: Grub Street, 2001, p. 1. ISBN 978-1-
90230-492-2.
42. Immelmann 2009, p. 163, letter to his mother dated 16 March 1916.
43. Wheeler 1965, pp. 27–35.

Bibliography
Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell. Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units
of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918. Grub
Street, 1993. ISBN 0-948817-73-9, ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.
Guttman, Jon. Pusher Aces of World War 1. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Co, 2009. ISBN 978-
1-84603-417-6.
Immelmann, Frantz. Der Adler von Lille. Liepzig, Austria: K.F. Koehler Verlag, 1934, reprinted as
Immelmann: The Eagle of Lille. Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate, 2009. ISBN 978-1-932033-
98-4.
Shores, Christopher, Air Aces. Greenwich, Connecticut: Bison Books, 1983. ISBN 0-86124-104-5.
Thompson, J. Steve with Peter C. Smith. Air Combat Manoeuvres: The Technique and History of
Air Fighting for Flight Simulation. Hersham, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-1-
903223-98-7.
van Wyngarden, G. Early German Aces of World War I. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2006.
ISBN 1-84176-997-5.
Wheeler, Allen. Building Aeroplanes for Those Magnificent Men London: Foulis, 1965.

External links
Ace Pilots: Immelmann (http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/ger_immelmann.html)
First World War: Immelmann (http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/immelmann.htm)
Max Immelmann page at theaerodrome.com (http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/immel
mann.php)
"The Eagle of Lille" (http://www.donhollway.com/immelmann/) from Aviation History magazine
Newspaper clippings about Max Immelmann (http://purl.org/pressemappe20/folder/pe/008519) in
the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Max_Immelmann&oldid=1043293984"

This page was last edited on 9 September 2021, at 10:29 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;

additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 9/10
9/9/21, 2:43 PM Max Immelmann - Wikipedia

Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Immelmann 10/10