Immelmann turn
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The Immelmann turn refers to two different aircraft maneuvers. The maneuver nowadays usually called an "Immelmann" has, in fact, no connection with the World War I German flying Ace Max Immelmann and is quite different from the historical fighter tactic originally named after him[citation needed].
In aerobatics
1. Level flight.
2. Half loop.
3. 180° roll to bring aircraft back level.
In modern aerobatical parlance, an Immelmann turn (also known as a roll-off-the-top, or simply an Immelmann) is an aerobatic maneuver of little practical use in aerial combat, and is a different maneuver altogether from the original dogfighting tactic of World War I from which it derives its name. Essentially, the aerobatic Immelmann comprises an ascending half-loop followed by a half-roll, resulting in level flight in the exact opposite direction at a higher altitude.
To successfully execute the aerobatic Immelmann turn, the pilot accelerates to sufficient airspeed to perform a loop in the aircraft. The pilot then pulls the aircraft into a climb, and continues to pull back on the controls as the aircraft climbs. Rudder and ailerons must be used to keep the half-loop straight when viewed from the ground. As the aircraft passes over the point at which the climb was commenced, it should be inverted and a half loop will have been executed. Sufficient airspeed must be maintained to recover without losing altitude, and at the top of the loop the pilot then executes a half-roll to regain normal, upright aircraft orientation. As a result, the aircraft is now at a higher altitude and has changed course 180 degrees.
Not all aircraft are capable of (or certified for) this maneuver, due to insufficient engine power, or engine design that precludes flying inverted (usually piston engines that have an open oil pan). In fact, few early aircraft had sufficiently precise roll control to have performed this maneuver properly. (Immelmann's Fokker Eindecker certainly did not).
The Immelmann turn has become one of the most popular aerobatic maneuvers, being commonly used in airshows all over the world. However, the aerobatic maneuver is of little use in modern dogfighting, because modern high thrust fighters can quickly initiate sustained vertical maneuvering from level flight, and slow targets are highly vulnerable to air-to-air missiles. The aerobatic maneuver also involves rapid "energy loss" (loss of airspeed) even if the nose is pushed down sharply as the maneuver is completed (This maneuver, an aerobatic Immelman followed by a dive back to the original altitude is another aerobatic maneuver called the "Half-Cuban-Eight").
Sometimes called a "reverse" or "inverted" Immelmann is the Split S maneuver, which is a half-roll followed by a descending half-loop, resulting in level flight in the exact opposite direction at a lower altitude.
Historical combat maneuver
In any case, the World War I "Immelmann turn" was a far less polished maneuver. This attacking maneuver was quite possibly used by Max Immelmann and may even have been originated by him. It was certainly used by other World War I fighter pilots, who called it after him.
After making a high speed diving attack on an enemy, the attacker would then climb back up past the enemy aircraft, and just short of the stall, apply full rudder to yaw his aircraft around. This put his aircraft facing down at the enemy aircraft, making another high speed diving pass possible. This is a difficult maneuver to perform properly, as it involves precise control of the aircraft at low speed. With practice and proper use of all of the fighter's controls, the maneuver could be used to re-position the attacking aircraft to dive back down in any direction desired. This form of "Immelmann turn" was called Renversement by French pilots. The modern aerobatic maneuvers that most resemble the World War I Immelmann are the "wingover", and the "hammer-head turn".
As a practical combat tactic, the Immelmann had already fallen somewhat into disfavor by 1917/1918, as it became obvious that the zooming aircraft presented an easy target as it hung nearly motionless at the top of the maneuver - provided the aircraft under attack was sufficiently powerful and well armed to follow his adversary, or was fitted with flexible forward and upward firing guns. In fact, its use in combat assumes an inferior opponent.
Especially among airmen who were not themselves fighter pilots the term "Immelmann" seems to have been loosely used to describe any maneuver producing a sudden reversal of flight direction - and after World War I came to be associated with the vaguely similar aerobatic "stunt" described at the head of this article.
In popular culture
- In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The First Duty", the fictional "Yeager Loop" maneuver performed by the cadets resembles a group of spacecraft performing Immelmann turns while in a diamond formation.
- Singer-songwriter Al Stewart included a song entitled "The Immelman Turn" on his 2005 album A Beach Full of Shells.
- In the anime, Last Exile, Dio Eraclea nicknames Claus Valca "Immelmann" for his expert execution of an Immelmann turn.
- In the climax of the 1983 movie Blue Thunder, main character Frank Murphy (Roy Scheider) loops his helicopter to defeat his arch enemy Col. Cochrane (Malcolm McDowell).
- In the X-Files Episode "Deep Throat", Mulder asks Colonel Budahas if pulling an Immelmann at a sustained 8 g's is a possibility.
- In the PC video game H.E.D.Z., the 'hed' player characters that possess the ability of airplane flight can perform an Immelmann turn using the special controls.
- In the card game Wings Of War, Immelmann turn is one of the standard maneuvers the player can execute using special controls. This move is also present in the PC video game version.
- The 1981 picture-book dogfighting game Ace of Aces included the Immelmann turn as a combat maneuver.
- In the PlayStation game, Warhawk, the Warhawk assault craft can perform an immelmann turn by doing a half loop and then pressing the L1 or R2 buttons to roll left or right respectively.
- The Immelmann Turn is performed by one of the characters in Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow.
- The Immelmann turn (called a U-turn in the game) is one of the maneuvers available to the player in the Nintendo 64 1997 game Star Fox 64 and the Nintendo Gamecube 2005 game Star Fox: Assault as well as the Nintendo DS 2006 game Star Fox Command. Both moves are only available to Arwings in "all-range" mode, either manually or automatically when the Arwing reaches the end of the map.
- The PlayStation 2 video game Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War has a tutorial specifically for performing the modern acrobatic Immelmann turn and the Split-S; the turns must be performed manually but the autopilot (hold down both yaw buttons) feature can be used to assist in the return to level flight. For gameplay reasons, both may be performed in combat, and the acrobatic Immelmann turn may instead be extended to a Kulbit if it is sufficiently maneuverable.
- The popular multi-platform arcade game Lego Star Wars features air/spacecraft that are capable of employing a simple Immelmann turn.
- In the game of Blazing Angels, Squadrons of WOII your wingmen will advise you to exploit this maneuver several times: "Your bird will last longer when they dont hit you, an Immelman would work great," or "Now would be a good time for an Immelman."
- In the multi-platform game Star Wars: Battlefront 2, on Hoth and all space maps, it is possible to perform an Immelmann Turn in any fighter, bomber or fast fighter (X-Wing, ARC-170, Y-Wing and A-Wing, etc.), although it is not named during gameplay, it is described as 'Immelman' in the control settings on the PC version of the game.
- In "The Intruder," the second episode of season 2 on Stargate Atlantis, Lt. Colonel John Sheppard does an Immelmann turn out of the F-302 bay in an attempt to get a bead on a tracking hijacked fighter.
- Blyth Power's song Animal Farm includes the following lines: "As he blackened the sky with his passing by/He made Immelmann turn around".
- In the XBox game Crimson Skies, an Immelmann is a move frequently executed during dogfights.
See also
- Chandelle
- Immelmann loop (Roller coaster element)
- The Scissors
References
This article has been simplified for civilian reference.
