Immelmann posing beside one of his kills. Max Immelmann (September 21, 1890 - June 18, 1916) was the first German WWI flying ace. He was born in South Africa but chose to renounce his British nationality while studying medicine in Germany. Having thereafter joined the German Army he resigned his commission in 1912 in order to work as an engineer. With the outbreak of war in he was recalled to active duty. He requested a transfer to the Flying Corps, taking and passing his examination in March 1915. The following month he was promoted Lieutenant. He was responsible for developing a dogfight maneuver, the Immelmann Turn, comprised of a simultaneous loop and roll design to allow him to dive back at a pursuing airman. It became standard practice during the remainder of the war. With fifteen confirmed kills, and the Pour le Merite awarded by the Kaiser in 1916 , hewas shot down by British pilot George McCubbin on June 18, 1916 near. Kaiser Wilhelm II grounded his fellow airman (and rival) Oswald Boelcke for a month to avoid the loss of two aces.
