Editing Max Immelmann

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{short description|German World War I flying ace}}{{Infobox military person
|name=Max Immelmann
|birth_date={{birth date|df=y|1890|9|21}}
|death_date={{death date and age|df=y|1916|6|18|1890|9|21}}
|birth_place=[[Dresden]], [[Kingdom of Saxony]], [[German Empire]]
|death_place=[[Lens, Pas-de-Calais|Lens]], [[Pas-de-Calais]], [[Third French Republic|France]]
|image= Max_Immelmann.jpg 
|image_size=
|caption=Max Immelmann in 1916
|nickname=''Der Adler von Lille'' (The Eagle of Lille)
|allegiance={{flag|German Empire}}
|branch=
{{plainlist|
*[[Imperial German Army]]
*[[Luftstreitkräfte|Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches]] (Imperial German Army Air Service)
}}
|serviceyears=
{{plainlist|
*1911–1912 (Army)
*1914–1916 (Army Air Service)
}}
|rank= [[Oberleutnant]]
|unit=''Eisenbahnregiment Nr. 2'', ''Eisenbahnregiment Nr. 1'', FEA 2, FFA 10, FAA 62
|awards=
{{plainlist|
*Prussia:
*:''[[Pour le Mérite]]''
*:[[Iron Cross|Iron Cross, First Class]]
*:[[Iron Cross|Iron Cross, Second Class]]
*:[[House Order of Hohenzollern|Knight's Cross with Swords of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern]]
*Saxony:
*:[[Military Order of St. Henry]], Commander's Cross
*:Military Order of St. Henry, Knight's Cross
*:[[Albert Order]], Knight 2nd Class with Swords
*:Silver [[Frederick Augustus I of Saxony|Friedrich August]] Medal
*Bavaria:
*:[[Military Merit Order (Bavaria)|Military Merit Order]] 4th Class with Swords
*Anhalt:
*:[[Frederickscross|Friedrich Cross]]
*Hamburg:
*:[[Hanseatic Cross]]
*Germany:
*:Army Pilot's Badge
}}
}}

'''Max Immelmann''' (21 September 1890&nbsp;– 18 June 1916) ''[[Pour le Mérite|PLM]]'' was the first German [[Lists of World War I flying aces|World War I flying ace]].<ref name= "Shores p. 10.">Shores, 1983, p. 10.</ref> He was a pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the [[Kurt Wintgens#First victory using a synchronized gun|first aerial victory]] using a [[synchronization gear|synchronized gun]], which was in fact achieved on 1 July 1915 by the German ace [[Kurt Wintgens]]. Immelmann was the first aviator to receive the ''[[Pour le Mérite]]'', colloquially known as the "Blue Max" in his honour, being awarded it at the same time as [[Oswald Boelcke]]. His name has become attached to a common flying tactic, the [[Immelmann turn]], and remains a byword in aviation. He is credited with 15 aerial victories.

==Early life==
Max Immelmann was born on 21 September 1890, in [[Dresden]], to an industrialist father who died when Max was young. In 1905 he was enrolled in the Dresden Cadet School. He joined the ''Eisenbahnregiment (Railway Regiment) Nr. 2'' in 1911 as an [[Ensign (rank)| ensign]],<ref name=lines134>Franks et al. 1993, pp. 134–135.</ref> in pursuit of a commission. 

He left the army in March 1912 to study mechanical engineering in Dresden. He returned to service at the outbreak of war in 1914, as a reserve officer candidate. Assigned to ''Eisenbahnregiment Nr. 1'', he soon transferred to aviation.<ref name="ReferenceA">van Wyngarden 2006, p. 13.</ref>

== Wartime career ==
[[File:Max Immelmann Fokker EI.jpg|thumb|Immelmann's first Eindecker, ''E.13/15'']]
When World War I started, Immelmann was called to active service, transferred to the [[German Army (German Empire)|German Army]]'s air arm, ''Die Fliegertruppe des Deutschen Kaiserreiches'' (later known as the ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]]'') and was sent for pilot training at [[Johannisthal Air Field]]<ref name="ReferenceA" /> in November 1914.<ref name=lines134 />  He was initially stationed in northern [[France]].

Immelmann served as a pilot with ''[[Feldflieger Abteilung]]'' (Field Flier Detachment) 10 from February to April 1915, and then in ''FFA 62'' by early May 1915. On several occasions he engaged in combat while flying the [[LVG|L.V.G.]] two-seaters with which his units were equipped, but never with any success.<ref name= "Shores p. 10.">Shores, 1983, p. 10.</ref> 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.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

Two very early examples of the [[Fokker Eindecker fighters]] were delivered to the unit, one [[Fokker M.5]]K/MG production prototype numbered ''E.3/15'' for [[Oswald Boelcke]]'s use, with Immelmann later in July receiving ''E.13/15'' as a production [[Fokker E.I]] for his own use before the end of July 1915. It was with the ''E.13/15'' aircraft, armed with the [[Synchronization gear|synchronized]] [[MG 08#lMG 08|lMG 08 ''Spandau'' machine gun]], that Immelmann 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 15 July 1915 with his own Fokker M.5K/MG production prototype ''E.5/15'' Eindecker,<ref name="VanWyngardenp12">VanWyngarden, pg.12</ref> one of five built, following two unconfirmed ones on 1 and 4 July, all before Immelmann:<ref name= "Shores p. 10.">Shores, 1983, p. 10.</ref>
{{Quote | style=font-size:100% | text=Like a hawk, I dived&nbsp;... 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&nbsp;– I had to fly completely without {{Nowrap|hands&nbsp;...<ref name= "Thompson p. 59.">Thompson and Smith 2008, p. 59.</ref>}}}}

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 crash landing. The unarmed Immelmann landed nearby, and approached Reid; they shook hands and Immelmann said to the British pilot "You are my prisoner" and pulled Reid out of the wreckage and rendered first aid.<ref>van Wyngarden 2006, pp. 14–15.</ref>

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'').<ref name= "Shores p. 10.">Shores, 1983, p. 10.</ref>

Immelmann flirted with the position of Germany's leading ace, trading that spot off with [[Oswald Boelcke]], another pioneer ace. Having come second to Boelcke for his sixth victory, he was 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 competition to be Germany's leading ace.<ref>van Wyngarden 2006, pp. 28–29.</ref>

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,<ref name="ReferenceB">van Wyngarden 2006, p. 30.</ref> 12 January 1916.<ref name=lines134 /> The medal became unofficially known as the "Blue Max" in the German Air Service in honour of Immelmann.<ref>[http://www.speedace.info/medal.htm "A Brief History of the Pour le Merite (The Blue Max)."] ''speedace.info.'' Retrieved: 11 October 2010.</ref> His medal was presented by [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Kaiser Wilhelm II]] on 12 January 1916. Oswald Boelcke received his medal at the same time.<ref name="ReferenceB" /><ref>[http://www.pourlemerite.org/ "Pour le Merite."] ''pourlemeritye.org.'' Retrieved: 23 April 2010.</ref>

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 19 March, regaining it on Easter Sunday (23 April) 14 to 13, losing it again forever on 1 May.<ref>van Wyngarden 2006, p. 37.</ref> It was about this time, on 25 April, that Immelmann received a salutary lesson in the improvement of British aircraft. As the German ace described his attack on two [[Airco DH.2]]s, "The two worked splendidly together&nbsp;... and put 11 shots into my machine. The petrol tank, the struts on the fuselage, the undercarriage and the propeller were hit&nbsp;... It was not a nice business."<ref>van Wyngarden 2006, p. 51.</ref><ref>Guttman 1983, p. 32.</ref>

On 31 May, Immelmann, [[Max Ritter von Mulzer|Max 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 twin-row [[Motorenfabrik Oberursel|Oberursel]] U.III engine loose from its mounts before he could cut the ignition and glide to a dead-stick landing.<ref>van Wyngarden 2006, p. 56.</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Immelmann - Grabanalage - Dresden Tolkewitz - Urnenhain - Bild 001.jpg|thumb|Tomb – Max Immelmann – Dresden Tolkewitz]]
[[File:Immelmann - Der Adler von Lille - Grab in Dresden - Bild 001.jpg|thumb|"Der Adler von Lille" – Tomb Immelmann – Dresden – ]]
In the late afternoon of 18 June 1916, Immelmann led a flight of four [[Fokker E.III]] Eindeckers in search of a flight of eight [[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2|F.E.2b]] fighter/reconnaissance aircraft of [[No. 25 Squadron RAF|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 {{convert|30|sqmi|-1|disp=flip}}, Immelmann brought down one of the enemy aircraft, wounding both the pilot and observer. This was his 16th victory claim, though it went unconfirmed.<ref name=lines134 />

At 21:45 that same evening, Immelmann in Fokker E.III, serial 246/16 encountered No. 25 Squadron again, this time near the village of [[Lens, Pas-de-Calais|Lens]]. Immediately, he got off a burst, which hit RFC Lt. J. R. B. Savage, pilot of F.E.2b [[Pusher configuration|pusher]] serial 4909, mortally wounding him.<ref>{{cite book |last=vanWyngarden |first=Greg |title=Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #73: Early German Aces of World War 1 |year=2006 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Botley, Oxford UK & New York City, USA |isbn=978-1-84176-997-4 |page=59}}</ref> This was his 17th victory claim, though Max Mulzer was later credited with the victory. The second aircraft he closed on was piloted by Second Lieutenant [[George McCubbin|G. R. McCubbin]], with Corporal J. H. Waller as gunner/observer.<ref name=lines134/>

McCubbin was credited by the British with shooting Immelmann down.<ref name=lines134/> 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 (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Medal]] and sergeant's stripes for Waller.<ref>Guttman 1983, pp. 27–29.</ref>

The German Air Service at the time said the loss was due to friendly anti-aircraft fire.<ref name="acepilots.com">[http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/ger_immelmann.html "Max Immelmann."] ''acepilots.com.'' Retrieved: 10 October 2010.</ref> Others, including Immelmann's brother, believed his aircraft's [[synchronization gear|gun synchronisation]], designed to enable his machine gun to fire between the whirling propeller blades without damaging them, had malfunctioned with catastrophic results.<ref>Guttman 1983, p. 28.</ref> Early versions of such gears frequently malfunctioned in this way and this had happened to Immelmann twice before, while testing two- and three-machine gun installations. On each occasion, he had been able to land safely.<ref name="acepilots.com" /> 

McCubbin, in a 1935 interview, said that immediately after Immelmann shot down McCubbin's squadron-mate, the German ace began an [[Immelmann turn]], McCubbin and Waller descended from a greater altitude and opened fire, shooting down Immelmann. Waller pointed out later that the British bullets could have hit Immelmann's propeller.<ref>Guttman 1983, pp. 28–29.</ref>

Damage to the propeller resulting in the loss of one blade could have been the primary cause of the structural failure, evident in accounts of the crash of his aircraft. The resultant vibration of an engine at full throttle spinning half a propeller could have shaken the fragile craft to pieces. At 2,000 metres, the tail was seen to break away from the rest of Immelmann's Fokker. The wings detached or folded,<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1623584 "Immelmann's Death.."] ''[[The Argus (Melbourne)|The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria: 1848–1956)]], 5 July 1916, p. 9 via ''National Library of Australia''. Retrieved: 29 November 2012.</ref> and what remained of the fuselage fell straight down. Immelmann’s body was recovered by the German [[6th Army (German Empire)|6 Armee]] from the twisted wreckage, lying lifeless over what was left of the surprisingly intact [[Motorenfabrik Oberursel|Oberursel]] engine, sometimes cited as under it. His body was identified by his initials embroidered on his handkerchief.{{cn|date=December 2020}}

Immelmann was given a state funeral and buried in his home city of [[Dresden]]. His body was later exhumed and cremated in the Dresden-Tolkewitz Crematorium. Immelmann, along with [[Max Ritter von Mulzer]], scored all of his victories flying different types of Eindeckers, becoming one of the most successful pilots in the type.

==Grave robbery and desecration==
[[File:Grabraub und Grabschändung - Jagdflieger Max Immelmann - Dresden Tolkewitz - am Sonntag 31. Januar 2021 - Bild 006.jpg|thumb|The grave following the robbery and desecration]]
During the night of Sunday 31 January 2021, Max Immelmann's memorial grave in Tolkewitz was robbed and desecrated. The Pöppelmann grave figure "Eagle of Lille", weighing around 100 kilograms, and approximately 180 centimetres in height, was dismantled and taken away by two men using a handcart to transport it to a pick-up truck parked nearby.<ref>[https://www.mdr.de/sachsen/dresden/dresden-radebeul/grabfigur-friedhof-tolkewitz-gestohlen-100.html MDR – Sachsen Dresden – Grabfigur Friedhof Tolkewitz gestohlen]</ref>

A local resident observed the robbery and informed the police, who are also investigating the two suspects in connection with other thefts.<ref>[https://www.mdr.de/sachsen/dresden/dresden-radebeul/grabfigur-friedhof-tolkewitz-gestohlen-100.html MDR – Sachsen Dresden – Grabfigur Friedhof Tolkewitz gestohlen]</ref> The public prosecutor's office in Dresden, which brought charges against the alleged perpetrators, estimated the value of the grave figure at around 50,000 euros. After restoration the figure was returned to Immelmann's grave.<ref>[https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen/dresden/dresden-radebeul/anklage-grabschaendung-dresden-100.html MDR.de – Sachsen  Dresden  News – Staatsanwaltschaft  – Anklage nach Grabschändung und Diebstahl in Dresden]</ref><ref>[https://www.dresden.de/de/rathaus/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/2021/06/pm_072.php Dresden.de – Rathaus Pressemitteilung – „Adler von Lille“ kehrt auf den Urnenhain zurück – Meldung vom 17.06.2021]</ref>

A number of historically significant First World War artefacts have been stolen from the graves of soldiers in the Tolkewitz cemetery during 2021, with a suspicion of possible "theft to order".<ref>[https://www.tag24.de/dresden/crime/einzigartige-skulpturen-und-bronzen-weg-militante-grabraeuber-pluendern-friedhof-1737622 Tag24.de – Dresden Crime -Einzigartige Skulpturen und Bronzen weg – Militante Grabräuber plündern  Friedhof]</ref>

==Legacy==

The present-day Luftwaffe has dubbed Squadron AG-51 the "Immelmann Squadron" in his honour.

== Promotion record and regimental assignments ==
*  Cadet, Dresden Cadet School, 1905–1912<ref name=lines134/>
*  ''Fähnrich mit Portepee'' (Swordknot Ensign), Eisenbahn-Regiment Nr 2 (2nd Railway Regiment), 4 April 1911<ref>Immelmann 2009. p. 34.</ref>
* 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<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 65; described by his brother, Franz, as "a 'guest performance' of only 13 days."</ref>
*  Assigned, FA 62, 28 April 1915–1916<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 70, letter to his mother, dated 6 May 1915.</ref>
* ''Leutnant'' (Second Lieutenant), Royal Saxony Army Reserves, 14 July 1915<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 101, telegram mentioned in letter to mother, dated 31 July 1915.</ref>
* ("Full") ''Oberleutnant'', Royal Saxon Army (active list), April 1916{{#tag:ref|In a letter to his mother, dated 24 April 1916, Immelmann described his regular army commission as "a promotion from subaltern to full lieutenant."<ref>Immelmann 2009, pp. 173–174.</ref>|group=N}}

== Orders and medals ==
'''{{flag|Kingdom of Saxony}}'''
* [[Military Order of St. Henry]], Knight Commander, 30 March 1916, after his 12th and 13th victories<ref>Immelmann, p. 170, letter to his mother dated 8 April 1916.</ref>
* [[Military Order of St. Henry]], Knight, 21 September 1915<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 127, letter to mother, dated 28 October 1915.</ref>
* [[Albert Order]], Knight's Cross with Swords<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 172, mentioned in a list of his awards he enumerated for his mother in his letter dated 8 April 1916.</ref>
* Silver [[Friedrich August Medal]], "For Gallantry in the Face of the Enemy", 15 July 1915<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 99, letter to mother, dated 31 July 1915.</ref>

'''{{flag|Kingdom of Prussia}} / {{flag|German Empire}}'''
* ''[[Pour le Mérite]]'', 12 January 1916, after his eighth victory<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 148, excerpted official military communiqué, dated 13 January 1916.</ref>
* [[Iron Cross]], First Class, 1 August 1915,<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 105, message from ''General der Infanterie Kurt von Pritzelwitz'', commander of the VI ''Armee-Korps'',  mentioned in letter to his mother, dated 3 August 1915.</ref> after his first victory
* [[Iron Cross]], Second Class, 3 June 1915,<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 88, letter to mother from Douai, dated 3 June 1915.</ref> after flying a successful reconnaissance mission with Lt. von Teubern (observer)
* [[Royal House Order of Hohenzollern]], Knight's Cross with Swords, November 1915<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 137, citing a telegram from Minister of War Falkenhayn, in a letter to his mother, dated 17 November 1915.</ref>


'''Miscellaneous German'''
* [[Hanseatic Cross]] (Hamburg), 15 March 1916, after flying aerial defense for the Mayor of Hamburg<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 165, letter to his mother, dated 8 April 1916.</ref>

* [[Military Merit Order (Bavaria)|Military Merit Order]](Bavaria), Fourth Class, ca. 6–12 December 1915<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 143, letter to his mother dated 20 December 1915.</ref>

'''Other'''
* [[Gallipoli Star (Ottoman Empire)|The Turkish War Medal of 1915]] (Ottoman Empire), April/May 1916{{#tag:ref|In his last letter to his mother, dated 18 May 1916, the Turkish War Medal of 1915 was also known as the "Gallipoli Star" among Commonwealth nations and in Germany, it was frequently referred to as the "Eiserner Halbmond" ("Iron Crescent") as it functioned as the Ottoman equivalent to the Iron Cross.<ref name="Immelmann p. 179">Immelmann 2009, p. 179.</ref>|group=N}}
* [[Imtiyaz Medal]] in Silver (Ottoman Empire), April/May 1916{{#tag:ref|In his last letter to his mother, dated 18 May 1916, Immelmann mistakenly referred to it as the "Imbias Medal in Silver", due either to a simple misspelling or misinterpretation of language. The medal bears no western verbiage, and he was likely attempting to decipher the award document (also mentioned in his letter) that were, of course, written in Turkish, using Arabic script .<ref name="Immelmann p. 179"/>|group=N}}

==Fokker Eindecker==
{{Main|Fokker Eindecker}}
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 [[synchronization gear|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 losses upon British and French aircrews during 1915.<ref>Franks, Norman. ''Sharks among Minnows: Germany's First Fighter Pilots and the Fokker Eindecker Period, July 1915 to September 1916''. London: Grub Street, 2001, p. 1. {{ISBN|978-1-90230-492-2}}.</ref>

Initially, Immelmann shared the same ''E.3/15'' machine with Oswald Boelcke, but late in the summer of 1915 would receive his own machine, bearing the IdFlieg serial number ''E.13/15'' on its fuselage. Both these E.3/15 machine earlier shared with Boelcke, and his own E.13/15 aircraft, both used to secure Immelmann's first five victories between them each had a seven-cylinder 80 horsepower Oberursel U.0 [[rotary engine]] for their power. According to Immelmann, the latter E.13/15 aircraft was retired and shipped off to Berlin for display at the Zeughaus Museum, in March 1916,<ref>Immelmann 2009, p. 163, letter to his mother dated 16 March 1916.</ref> but was wrecked in the first bombing raids of the [[Royal Air Force]] in 1940, during World War II.

==The Immelmann turn==
{{Main|Immelmann turn}}
This refers to two quite different [[aerobatic maneuver]]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 may not have been practical in the primitive, underpowered fighters of 1915–1916, and its connection with the German fighter ace is doubtful.{{#tag:ref|Among other characteristics required for the performance of an "Immelmann" in the modern aerobatic sense is very precise lateral (roll) control – see Wheeler (especially Chapter IV, pp 27–35) for a discussion of the lack of this degree of control in early aircraft, ''especially wire-braced monoplanes''.|group=N}}<ref name= "Wheeler pp. 27-35">Wheeler 1965, pp. 27–35.</ref>
# 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 [[chandelle]] 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.<ref name="Thompson p. 59."/>

==See also==
*[[Aerobatics]]
*[[Flying Ace]]
*[[Fokker Eindecker]]
*[[Fokker Scourge]]
*[[Oswald Boelcke]]
*[[Pour le Mérite]]
*[[Immelmann turn]]
*[[Immelmann Loop]]
*[[Kurt Wintgens]]

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=N}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* [[Norman Franks|Franks, Norman]]; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell. ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''. Grub Street, 1993. {{ISBN|0-948817-73-9}}, {{ISBN|978-0-948817-73-1}}.
* Guttman, Jon. ''Pusher Aces of World War 1''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Co, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-84603-417-6}}.
* Immelmann, Frantz. ''Der Adler von Lille''. Leipzig, Austria: K.F. Koehler Verlag, 1934, reprinted as ''Immelmann: The Eagle of Lille.'' Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-932033-98-4}}.
* Shores, Christopher, ''Air Aces''. Greenwich, Connecticut: Bison Books, 1983. {{ISBN|0-86124-104-5}}.
* Thompson, J. Steve with Peter C. Smith. ''Air Combat Manoeuvres: The Technique and History of Air Fighting for Flight Simulation.'' Hersham, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Publishing, 2008. {{ISBN|978-1-903223-98-7}}.
* van Wyngarden, G. ''Early German Aces of World War I''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2006. {{ISBN|1-84176-997-5}}.
* Wheeler, Allen. ''Building Aeroplanes for Those Magnificent Men'' London: Foulis, 1965.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*[http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/ger_immelmann.html Ace Pilots: Immelmann]
*[http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/immelmann.htm First World War: Immelmann]
*[http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/immelmann.php Max Immelmann page at theaerodrome.com]
*[http://www.donhollway.com/immelmann/ "The Eagle of Lille"] from ''Aviation History'' magazine
* {{PM20|FID=pe/008519}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Immelmann, Max}}
[[Category:1890 births]]
[[Category:1916 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Dresden]]
[[Category:Military personnel of the Kingdom of Saxony]]
[[Category:Aviators killed by being shot down]]
[[Category:German World War I flying aces]]
[[Category:Luftstreitkräfte personnel]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Imtiyaz Medal]]
[[Category:German military personnel killed in World War I]]