Lieutenant Max Immelmann
ax Immelmann was born in Dresden, Germany on September 21 1890.
When he was 15 years old he went to te Cadets-school in Dresden.
He had great interest in mechanical technics and engines. Therefore he chose for education at the 2nd Rail-Battalion and was promoted in 1912 to Cornet. At the outbreak of the war he and his brother Franz wanted to join the airforce. Max got flying lessons in Johannesthal. In november 1914 he was transferred to "Fliegertruppe"; a unit of military pilotes, but he had mostly to fly the post within Germany.
In april 1915 he was stationed at the front. He was ordered to join the Feldfliegerabteilung 10. This was an artillery-scouting unit in Vrizy. Two weeks later he was called back to Germany, where he was placed in Döberitz in the
Feldfliegerabteilung 62 under the command of Captain Hermann Kastner, a veteran fighter pilot. The airplanes of this unit were mostly L.V.G.'s 2-seater reconnaissance planes. After this unit on may 13 arrived at the front in Douai, Captain Kastner trained one of his best pilots Oswald Boelcke and learned together the ins and outs of the brand new Fokker E-1. They were so excited about this new concept and the synchronized shooting system. Soon a second Fokker E-1 was delivered at the unit and Boelcke at his turn teached all he knew to his friend; Cornet Max Immelmann.
In those days it was common that a squadron or Fliegerbbteilung consisted of bunch of different types of airplanes. The Fokker E-1 was however so good and effective that it was a very wanted airplane but there were only a few at a low productionscale. Therefore the new Fokkers E-1 and a bit later E-II were assigned by ones and twos to each squadron to protect.
On July 14, 1915 Immelmann was promoted to Second Lieutenant and on the 31th of the same month he was for the first time airborned in his Fokker E-I; 3/15. Already the next day he shot down his first victim. A British BE2c, probably belonging to Lieutenant William Reid was combatting Oswald Boelcke. Boelcke had to withdraw when his machine-gun blocked, Immelmann attacked and hit the plane of Reid and Max forced him to make a crash-landing.
A short period of time Boelcke and Immelmann stayed together in their unit, and ruled over the skies above Lille. In September Boelcke was transferred to another Fliegerabteilung. From then Immelmann was the only Fokker Eindecker pilot to defend the area, but he loved it. In the mornings he flew in his old faithful L.V.G. for reconnaissance and in the afternoons and evenings he took the Fokker. During this summer he liked to use these both planes and asked a lot of them. It was then that he was named "The Eagle of Lille".
In spite of their divorce Boelcke and Immelmann in January 1916, both scored their eighth victories and both received the Pour le Mérite.
They were the first pilots to receive this award.
Max Immelmann developed a tactical manoeuvre which gave him a possibility to attack "out of the sun", so that his opponent only saw him when Immelmann already fired his gun. Immediately after he passed the enemy-aircraft he made a half loop up and in a slow roll turned back into the sun's direction, turned again and was ready for a new attack. Besides his flying skill he was also a crack shot. This allowed him to use very little ammunition and to stay in the air as long as his fuel let him to. This attacking manoeuvre was soon called "The Immelmann" (in fact not the Immelmann turn). He however did not create "The Immelmann" as it is known now. His Eindeckers E-I nor E-II did not have the power and could never survive that complicated roll during the loop but it is later developed by other fighter pilots. But today Max Immelmann will be remembered in this as the first pilot to made it possible to attack more than once in quick sequences.
He was admired by his colleagues and the staff. He was a gentleman officer, correct and with great courage. His skill and success gave him the aura of an unbeatable pilot. Therefore it was really a shock that on June 18, 1916 the message came that Max died in a fight with two British airplanes. People on the ground saw that Immelmanns E-III broke in two parts and fell down.
German army people thought that the synchronizer gear had failed, as it has done twice before, and that Max shot off his own propeller, causing violent vibrations that shook apart his Fokker. Anthony Fokker, in secret, examined the wreckage and would never tell the world that his system failed and concluded that plane had been hit by friendly anti-aircraft fire.
But before the death off Immelmann was made public two pilots of the 25th RFC squadron reported to have shot down a German Fokker above Annay at 19.00 hrs. The RFC claimed that Lt. McCubbin and Corporal Waller downed Immelmann and decorated them accordingly.
Max Immelmann had scored 15 victories.
Looking for more information about Max Immelmann and World War I.?
Story of Max Immelmann. In German
The Aerodrome.
Trenches on the Web.
The World War I Document Archive.
The early years of flying.
In Flanders fields. An impressive museum in Ieper (Belgium)
The inheritance of the Great War.
