Max Immelmann
Encyclopedia
Max Immelmann was the first German World War I
flying ace
. He was a great pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchronized gun
. His name has become attached to common flying tactics, and remains a byword in aviation.
to an industrialist father, who died when Max was young. After leaving school, he joined the Eisenbahnregiment Nr. 2 in 1911, in pursuit of a commission. He left the army in March 1912 to study mechanical engineering in Dresden. He returned to service on the outbreak of war, as a reserve officer candidate. He was assigned to Eisenbahnregiment Nr. 1, but soon transferred to aviation.
and was sent for pilot training at Johannisthal Air Field
in November 1914. He was initially stationed in northern France
.
Immelmann served as a pilot with Fliegerabteilung 10 from February to April 1915, and then in Flg Abt 62. On several occasions he engaged in combat while flying the L.V.G. two seaters with which his units were equipped, but never with any success. On 3 June 1915, he was shot down by a French pilot but managed to land safely behind German lines. Immelmann was decorated with the Iron Cross
, Second Class for preserving his aircraft.
When two very early versions of the Fokker Eindecker
s were delivered to the unit, one Fokker M.5K/MG production prototype numbered E.3/15 for Oswald Boelcke
's use, with Immelmann receiving E.13/15 as a production Fokker E.I
, it was with the E.13/15 aircraft that he gained his first confirmed air victory of the war on 1 August 1915, a fortnight after Leutnant Kurt Wintgens
obtained the very first confirmed German aerial victory on July 15, 1915 with his own Fokker M.5K/MG production prototype E.5/15 Eindecker, one of five built, following two unconfirmed ones on July 1 and 4, all before Immelmann.:
Lieutenant William Reid fought back valiantly, flying with his left hand and firing a pistol with his right. Nonetheless, the 450 bullets fired at him took their effect; Reid suffered four wounds in his left arm, and his airplane's engine quit, causing a crashlanding. The unarmed Immelmann landed nearby, took Reid prisoner, and rendered first aid.
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). He gained two further victories during September, to become the first German ace.
Immelmann flirted with the position of occasionally being Germany's leading ace, trading that spot off with that other pioneer ace, Oswald Boelcke
. Having come second to Boelcke for his sixth victory, and thus 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 ace race.
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. The medal became unofficially known as the "Blue Max" in the German Air Service in honor of Immelmann. His medal was presented by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 12 January 1916. Oswald Boelcke
received his medal at the same time.
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. It was about this time, on 25 April, that Immelmann received a salutary lesson in the improvement of British aircraft. As the German ace himself described his attack on two Airco DH.2
s, "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."
On 31 May, Immelmann, Max Ritter 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 Oberursel
engine loose from its mounts before he could cut the ignition and glide to a dead-stick landing.
Eindeckers in search of a flight of eight F.E.2b
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, Immelmann brought down one of the enemy aircraft, wounding both the pilot and observer. This was his 16th victory.
Later that same evening, Immelmann in Fokker E.III, serial 246/16, encountered No. 25 Squadron again, this time near the village of Lentz. Immediately, he got off a burst which hit the pilot of one of the pushers, killing him instantly. This was his 17th victory. The crew of the second aircraft he closed on, which Max Ritter von Mulzer downed a few minutes later, was piloted by Second Lieutenant G.R. McCubbin with Corporal J. H. Waller as gunner/observer, and was credited by the British with shooting Immelmann down. 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.
The German Air Service at the time claimed the loss was due to (friendly) anti-aircraft fire. 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. This is not in itself 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. 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 Wall swooped down from a greater altitude and opened fire, and the pioneer German ace fell out of the sky. Wall also pointed out later that the British bullets could have hit Immelmann's propeller.
In fact, damage to the propeller seems unlikely to have been the primary cause of the structural failure evident in accounts of the crash of his aircraft, although it is possible that a sudden stall and spin resulting from the sudden loss of motive power could have caused structural failure. At 2,000 meters, the tail was seen to break away from the rest of Immelmann's Fokker, the wings detached or folded, and what remained of the fuselage fell straight down, carrying the 25-year old Oberleutnant to his death. His body was recovered by the German 6 Armee from the twisted wreckage, laying 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 honorably cremated in the Dresden-Tolkewitz Crematorium.
The present-day Luftwaffe has dubbed Squadron AG-51 the "Immelmann Squadron" in his honor.
Kingdom of Prussia / Imperial German
Kingdom of Bavaria
Miscellaneous German
Other
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 loses upon British and French aircrews during 1915.
The machine he flew during his first five victories had a seven-cylinder 80 horsepower Oberursel U.0 rotary
engine, and bore the serial number E.13/15 on its fuselage. According to Immelmann, it was retired and shipped off to Berlin for display at the Zeughaus Museum, in March 1916., but was wrecked in the first bombing raids of the Royal Air Force
in 1940, during World War II.
s. The first of these is the one now known as an "Immelmann" (also frequently spelled "Immelman", in literature and media).
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
. He was a great pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchronized gun
Interrupter gear
An interrupter gear is a device used on military aircraft and warships in order to allow them to target opponents without damaging themselves....
. His name has become attached to common flying tactics, and remains a byword in aviation.
Early life
He was born in DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
to an industrialist father, who died when Max was young. After leaving school, he joined the Eisenbahnregiment Nr. 2 in 1911, in pursuit of a commission. He left the army in March 1912 to study mechanical engineering in Dresden. He returned to service on the outbreak of war, as a reserve officer candidate. He was assigned to Eisenbahnregiment Nr. 1, but soon transferred to aviation.
Wartime career
When World War I started, Immelmann was recalled to active service, transferred to the LuftstreitkräfteLuftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
and was sent for pilot training at Johannisthal Air Field
Johannisthal Air Field
The Johannisthal Air Field, located 15 km southeast of Berlin, between Johannisthal and Adlershof, was Germany's first airfield. It opened on 26 September 1909, a few weeks after the world's first airfield at Rheims, France .-Overview:...
in November 1914. He was initially stationed in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Immelmann served as a pilot with Fliegerabteilung 10 from February to April 1915, and then in Flg Abt 62. On several occasions he engaged in combat while flying the L.V.G. two seaters with which his units were equipped, but never with any success. On 3 June 1915, he was shot down by a French pilot but managed to land safely behind German lines. Immelmann was decorated with the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
, Second Class for preserving his aircraft.
When two very early versions of the Fokker Eindecker
Fokker Eindecker
The Fokker Eindecker was a German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker. Developed in April 1915, the Eindecker was the first purpose-built German fighter aircraft and the first aircraft to be fitted with synchronizer gear, enabling the pilot...
s were delivered to the unit, one Fokker M.5K/MG production prototype numbered E.3/15 for Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke 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, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics"; he was the first to...
's use, with Immelmann receiving E.13/15 as a production Fokker E.I
Fokker E.I
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Boyne, Walter J. The Smithsonian Book of Flight for Young People. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1988. ISBN 0-689-31422-1....
, it was with the E.13/15 aircraft that he gained his first confirmed air victory of the war on 1 August 1915, a fortnight after Leutnant Kurt Wintgens
Kurt Wintgens
Leutnant Kurt Wintgens was a German World War I fighter ace. He was the first military fighter pilot to score a victory over an opposing aircraft in an aircraft armed with a synchronized machine gun. Wintgens was the recipient of the Iron Cross and the Blue Max.-Background:Wintgens was born into a...
obtained the very first confirmed German aerial victory on July 15, 1915 with his own Fokker M.5K/MG production prototype E.5/15 Eindecker, one of five built, following two unconfirmed ones on July 1 and 4, all before Immelmann.:
"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 hands - I had to fly completely without hands... "
Lieutenant William Reid fought back valiantly, flying with his left hand and firing a pistol with his right. Nonetheless, the 450 bullets fired at him took their effect; Reid suffered four wounds in his left arm, and his airplane's engine quit, causing a crashlanding. The unarmed Immelmann landed nearby, took Reid prisoner, and rendered first aid.
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). He gained two further victories during September, to become the first German ace.
Immelmann flirted with the position of occasionally being Germany's leading ace, trading that spot off with that other pioneer ace, Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke 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, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics"; he was the first to...
. Having come second to Boelcke for his sixth victory, and thus 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 ace race.
Immelmann was the first pilot to be awarded the Pour le Mérite
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
, Germany's highest military honour, receiving it on the day of his eighth win. The medal became unofficially known as the "Blue Max" in the German Air Service in honor of Immelmann. His medal was presented by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 12 January 1916. Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke 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, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics"; he was the first to...
received his medal at the same time.
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. It was about this time, on 25 April, that Immelmann received a salutary lesson in the improvement of British aircraft. As the German ace himself described his attack on two Airco DH.2
Airco DH.2
|-DH.2 aces:Distinguished pilots of the DH.2 included Victoria Cross winner Lanoe Hawker , who was the first commander of No 24 Squadron and ace Alan Wilkinson. The commander of No. 32 Squadron, Lionel Rees won the Victoria Cross flying the D.H.2 for single handedly attacking a formation of 10...
s, "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."
On 31 May, Immelmann, Max Ritter von Mulzer
Max Ritter von Mulzer
Leutnant Max Ritter von Mulzer was a World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories. He was the first Bavarian fighter ace, first Bavarian ace recipient of the Pour le Merite, and first Bavarian knighted for his exploits....
, and another German pilot attacked a formation of seven British aircraft. Immelmann was flying a two-gun Fokker E.IV
Fokker E.IV
|-See also:...
, 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 Oberursel
Motorenfabrik Oberursel
Motorenfabrik Oberursel A.G. was a German manufacturer of automobile, locomotive and aircraft engines situated in Oberursel , near Frankfurt , Germany. During World War I it supplied a major 100 hp-class rotary engine that was used in a number of early-war fighter aircraft designs...
engine loose from its mounts before he could cut the ignition and glide to a dead-stick landing.
Death
In the late afternoon of 18 June 1916, Immelmann led a flight of four Fokker E.IIIFokker E.III
|-See also:...
Eindeckers in search of a flight of eight F.E.2b
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 was a two-seat pusher biplane that was operated as a day and night bomber and as a fighter aircraft by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War...
reconnaissance aircraft of 25 Squadron Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
over Sallaumines
Sallaumines
-Administration:Sallaumines is located in the Pas-de-Calais department. It belongs to the Lens-Liévin interommunality which consists of 36 communes, with a total population of 250,000 inhabitants.-History:...
in northern France. The British flight had just crossed the lines near Arras
Arras
Arras is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The historic centre of the Artois region, its local speech is characterized as a Picard dialect...
, 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, Immelmann brought down one of the enemy aircraft, wounding both the pilot and observer. This was his 16th victory.
Later that same evening, Immelmann in Fokker E.III, serial 246/16, encountered No. 25 Squadron again, this time near the village of Lentz. Immediately, he got off a burst which hit the pilot of one of the pushers, killing him instantly. This was his 17th victory. The crew of the second aircraft he closed on, which Max Ritter von Mulzer downed a few minutes later, was piloted by Second Lieutenant G.R. McCubbin with Corporal J. H. Waller as gunner/observer, and was credited by the British with shooting Immelmann down. 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
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
and the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
and sergeant's stripes for Waller.
The German Air Service at the time claimed the loss was due to (friendly) anti-aircraft fire. Others, including Immelmann's brother, believed his aircraft's gun synchronisation
Interrupter gear
An interrupter gear is a device used on military aircraft and warships in order to allow them to target opponents without damaging themselves....
(designed to enable his machine gun to fire between the whirling propeller blades without damaging them) had malfunctioned with catastrophic results. This is not in itself 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. McCubbin, in a 1935 interview, claimed that immediately after Immelmann shot down McCubbin's squadron mate, the German ace began an Immelmann turn
Immelmann turn
The Immelmann turn refers to two different aircraft maneuvers.-In aerobatics:In modern aerobatical parlance, an Immelmann turn is an aerobatic maneuver of little practical use in aerial combat, and is a different maneuver altogether from the original dogfighting tactic of World War I from which it...
, McCubbin and Wall swooped down from a greater altitude and opened fire, and the pioneer German ace fell out of the sky. Wall also pointed out later that the British bullets could have hit Immelmann's propeller.
In fact, damage to the propeller seems unlikely to have been the primary cause of the structural failure evident in accounts of the crash of his aircraft, although it is possible that a sudden stall and spin resulting from the sudden loss of motive power could have caused structural failure. At 2,000 meters, the tail was seen to break away from the rest of Immelmann's Fokker, the wings detached or folded, and what remained of the fuselage fell straight down, carrying the 25-year old Oberleutnant to his death. His body was recovered by the German 6 Armee from the twisted wreckage, laying smashed and lifeless over what was left of the surprisingly intact Oberursel
Motorenfabrik Oberursel
Motorenfabrik Oberursel A.G. was a German manufacturer of automobile, locomotive and aircraft engines situated in Oberursel , near Frankfurt , Germany. During World War I it supplied a major 100 hp-class rotary engine that was used in a number of early-war fighter aircraft designs...
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
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. His body was later exhumed, however, and honorably cremated in the Dresden-Tolkewitz Crematorium.
The present-day Luftwaffe has dubbed Squadron AG-51 the "Immelmann Squadron" in his honor.
Personality
Max had a lonely devotion to his pet dog, Tyras, who often slept within or on his bed. He didn't smoke or drink and wrote daily to his mother. When he flew he wore old velvet trousers but on the ground dressed at his best. He loved having his photo taken whenever he had a new medal.Promotion Record and Regimental Assignments
- Cadet, Dresden Cadet School, 1908–1911
- Fähnrich mit Portepee (Swordknot Ensign), Eisenbahn-Regiment Nr 2 (2nd Railway Regiment), 4 April 1911
- 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
- Assigned, FA 62, 28 April 1915 - 1916
- Leutnant (Second Lieutenant), Royal Saxony Army Reserves, 14 July 1915
- ("Full") Leutnant, Royal Saxon Army (active list), April 1916
Orders and Medals
Kingdom of Saxony- Military Order of St. HenryMilitary Order of St. HenryThe Military Order of St. Henry was a military order of the Kingdom of Saxony, a member state of the German Empire. The order was the oldest military order of the states of the German Empire. It was founded on October 7, 1736 by Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony...
, Knight Commander, 30 March 1916, after his 12th and 13th victories - Military Order of St. HenryMilitary Order of St. HenryThe Military Order of St. Henry was a military order of the Kingdom of Saxony, a member state of the German Empire. The order was the oldest military order of the states of the German Empire. It was founded on October 7, 1736 by Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony...
, Knight, 21 September 1915 - Albert OrderAlbert OrderThe Albert Order was created 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony and was to be awarded to anyone who had served the state well, for civil virtue, science and art....
, Knight's Cross with Swords - (Silver) Friedrich August Medal, “For Gallantry in the Face of the Enemy”, 15 July 1915
Kingdom of Prussia / Imperial German
- Pour le MéritePour le MériteThe Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
, 12 January 1916, after his eighth victory - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
, First Class, 1 August 1915, after his first victory - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
, Second Class, 3 June 1915, after flying a successful reconnaissance mission with Lt. von Teubern (observer) - Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords, November 1915
Kingdom of Bavaria
- Military Merit OrderMilitary Merit Order (Bavaria)The Bavarian Military Merit Order was established on July 19, 1866 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was the kingdom's main decoration for bravery and military merit for officers and higher-ranking officials. Civilians acting in support of the army were also made eligible for the decoration...
, Fourth Class, ca. 6–12 December 1915
Miscellaneous German
- Hanseatic CrossHanseatic CrossThe Hanseatic Cross was a decoration of the three Hanseatic Cities of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were member states of the German Empire during World War I...
(Hamburg), 15 March 1916, after flying aerial defense for the Mayor of Hamburg
Other
- The Turkish War Medal of 1915Gallipoli Star (Ottoman Empire)The Ottoman War Medal , better known as the Gallipoli Star, or the Iron Crescent was a military decoration of the Ottoman Empire which was instituted by the Sultan Mehmed Reshad V on 1 March 1915 for gallantry in battle...
(Ottoman Empire), April/May 1916 - Imtiyaz MedalImtiyaz MedalThe Imtiyaz Medal / Imtiaz Medal or Nishan-i-Imtiaz was an Ottoman military decoration, instituted in 1882. It was presented in two classes, gold and silver. The gold medal was the highest Ottoman military decoration for gallantry. When awarded during World War I, the medal was worn with a...
in Silver (Ottoman Empire), April/May 1916
Fokker Eindecker
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
, and the first such aircraft to be armed with a machine gun synchronised
Interrupter gear
An interrupter gear is a device used on military aircraft and warships in order to allow them to target opponents without damaging themselves....
to fire forward, through the propeller arc. Immelmann, along with Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke 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, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics"; he was the first to...
and other pilots, was one of the main exponents of the Fokker Eindecker, resulting in the Fokker Scourge
Fokker Scourge
The Fokker Scourge was a term coined by the British press in the summer of 1915 to describe the then-current ascendancy of the Fokker Eindecker monoplane fighters of the German Fliegertruppen over the poorly-armed Allied reconnaissance types of the period....
which inflicted heavy loses upon British and French aircrews during 1915.
The machine he flew during his first five victories had a seven-cylinder 80 horsepower Oberursel U.0 rotary
Rotary engine
The rotary engine was an early type of internal-combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration, in which the crankshaft remained stationary and the entire cylinder block rotated around it...
engine, and bore the serial number E.13/15 on its fuselage. According to Immelmann, it was retired and shipped off to Berlin for display at the Zeughaus Museum, in March 1916., but was wrecked in the first bombing raids of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in 1940, during World War II.
The Immelmann turn
This refers to two quite different aerobatic maneuverAerobatic maneuver
Aerobatic maneuvers are flight paths putting aircraft in unusual attitudes, in air shows, dog fights or competition aerobatics. Aerobatics can be performed by a single aircraft or in formation with several others...
s. The first of these is the one now known as an "Immelmann" (also frequently spelled "Immelman", in literature and media).
- A half loop followed by a half roll on top, used to rapidly reverse the direction of flight. This maneuver would not have been practical in the primitive, underpowered fighters of 1915–1916, and its connection with the German fighter ace is most doubtful.
- 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 chandelleChandelleThe chandelle is an aircraft control maneuver where the pilot combines a 180° turn with a climb.It is now required for attaining a commercial flight certificate in many countries...
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.
See also
- AerobaticsAerobaticsAerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...
- Flying AceFlying aceA flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
- Fokker EindeckerFokker EindeckerThe Fokker Eindecker was a German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker. Developed in April 1915, the Eindecker was the first purpose-built German fighter aircraft and the first aircraft to be fitted with synchronizer gear, enabling the pilot...
- Fokker ScourgeFokker ScourgeThe Fokker Scourge was a term coined by the British press in the summer of 1915 to describe the then-current ascendancy of the Fokker Eindecker monoplane fighters of the German Fliegertruppen over the poorly-armed Allied reconnaissance types of the period....
- Oswald BoelckeOswald BoelckeOswald Boelcke 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, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics"; he was the first to...
- Pour le MéritePour le MériteThe Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
- Immelmann turnImmelmann turnThe Immelmann turn refers to two different aircraft maneuvers.-In aerobatics:In modern aerobatical parlance, an Immelmann turn is an aerobatic maneuver of little practical use in aerial combat, and is a different maneuver altogether from the original dogfighting tactic of World War I from which it...
- Immelmann Loop
