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Society Incorporated (Incorporated under the Association Incorporation Act 1984) HISTORY - "THE IMMELMANN" |
![]() The
well known flying manoeuver of a "flip-over" at the top of a loop is named
after Oberleutnant Max Immelmann (1890-1916)
The son of a wealthy factory owner in Dresden, Max immelmann was born in September 1890. In february 1915 Immelmann was posted to FFA 62, flying LVG two-seaters on observation and escort patrols, with him on these patrols was Oswald Boelcke, and within a few months they had established themselves a reputation as top scoring pilots. On 1st August he won his first victory, a BE2c of squadron, RFC. On 12th of January 1916 Max Immelmann, or the "EAGLE OF LILLE" as he had become known, was awarded the coveted POUR LE MERITE. His tally rose to 13 by the end of March, but on 18 of June 1916 he was engaged in a fight with FE2bs of 25 squadron in his Fokker (246/16). Twisting and turning around in the crazy skies, he suddenly came under fire from an FE2b flown by Captain G.R. McGubbin. McGubbin's report states that he shot the Fokker`s propeller away causing the engine to tear loose from its mountings, sending the aircraft plunging to the ground. Max Immelmann`s skill as a pilot was greatly respected by the British and on the day of his funeral they flew a special sortie over the spot where he was killed and droped a wreath. The black funeral sash around it read: "In memory of Oberleutnant Immelmann, our brave and knightly opponent, from the British Royal Flying Corps." |
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