German Ace Max Immelmann In Memoriam! Postcard from a drawing by Gehrig, 1916. Immelmann was shot down on June 18, 1916.

Gehrig, 1916

Immelmann In Memoriam!

Reverse:

Sekretariat Sozialer Studentenarbeit

M. Gladbach.

Zeichnung von Oskar Gehrig (Karlsruhe): Immelmann.

Secretariat of Social Work students

M. Gladbach.

Drawing by Oskar Gehrig (Karlsruhe): Immelmann.

Message dated December 30, 1916, postmarked 1917.

Other views: Larger, Back

Sunday, June 18, 1916

"On 18 June 1916 [German pilot Max Immelmann] was engaged in a fight with FE2bs of 25 Squadron in his Fokker (246/16). Twisting and turning around in the packed skies, he suddenly came under fire from an FE2b flown by Captain G R McGubbin together with his gunner, Corporal J H Waller. Their report states that they 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 dropped 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."

Quotation Context

After Oswald Bölcke, Max Immelmann was Germany's leading ace, with 15 victories, when he was killed on June 18, 1916, flying the Fokker E.I, Germany's first fighter plane. He was credited with inventing the Immelmann turn, reversing direction by executing a half roll while climbing in a half loop, beginning and ending the maneuver with the plane level. There is some question whether the E.I was capable of such a maneuver. Like Bölcke, Immelmann was awarded the Pour le Mérite, the Blue Max, one of Prussia's highest honors, the two men receiving their medals the same day.

Source

German Knights of the Air 1914-1918; The Holders of the Orden Pour Le Mérite by Terry C. Treadwell & Alan C. Wood, page 99, copyright © 1997 by Terry C. Treadwell & Alan C. Wood, publisher: Barnes and Noble Books, publication date: 1997

Tags

1916-06-18, 1916, June, Max Immelmann, Immelmann, death, In Memoriam