| Revision as of 19:44, 29 August 2003 edit217.3.108.29 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 02:18, 21 May 2004 edit undoFinlay McWalter (talk | contribs)Administrators76,164 edits +exlink, more on cause(s) of death.Next edit → | ||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
| He was the first German combat pilot to be awarded the ''Pour le Mérite'', Germany's highest military honor. The medal became known as the ] in honor of Immelmann. | He was the first German combat pilot to be awarded the ''Pour le Mérite'', Germany's highest military honor. The medal became known as the ] in honor of Immelmann. | ||
| Immelmann was killed in combat over ] in northern France on June 18th 1916. Some sources, including the Luftwaffe at the time, claimed this was due to (friendly) anti-aircraft artillery. Others, including his brother, believed the interruptor mechanism (which was designed to prevent his through-the-propeller machinegun from damaging the propeller blades) had catastrophically malfunctioned. | |||
| He was downed by friendly fire (artillery) over ] in North-France | |||
| ==External link== | |||
| * | |||
Revision as of 02:18, 21 May 2004
Max Immelmann (September 21, 1890 - June 18, 1916) was a German air ace of World War I.
He was born in Dresden the son of a paper board container factory owner. After leaving school he joined Eisenbahnregiment Berlin. 1913 - 1914 he studied mechanical engineering in Dresden.
When the World War I started he joined the Luftstreitkräfte and is stationed in North-France as reconnaissance aviator. 1915 he became a fighter pilot. He became known as Eagle of Lille.
He develop a figure consisting of a half loop and a turn now called Immelmann which was used for the rapid change of direction of flight. He was the first German combat pilot to be awarded the Pour le Mérite, Germany's highest military honor. The medal became known as the Blue Max in honor of Immelmann. Immelmann was killed in combat over Sallaumines in northern France on June 18th 1916. Some sources, including the Luftwaffe at the time, claimed this was due to (friendly) anti-aircraft artillery. Others, including his brother, believed the interruptor mechanism (which was designed to prevent his through-the-propeller machinegun from damaging the propeller blades) had catastrophically malfunctioned.