Historical Combat Maneuver
In World War I aerial combat, an Immelmann turn was a maneuver used after an attack on another aircraft to re-position the attacking aircraft to dive back down to re-attack.
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.
As a practical combat tactic, the Immelmann had already fallen somewhat into disfavor by 1917/1918.
Read more about this topic: Immelmann Turn
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