On June 18, 1916, Oberleutenant Max Immelman, the “Eagle of Lille” and inventor of the Immelmann turn (a half loop with a roll at the top), met his end at the hands of Second Lt. George R. McCubbin of the Royal Flying Corps. Pitted against each other 8,000 feet above Annay were two of the war’s outstanding pilots and aircraft.

Immelman, who earned Germany’s highest award for bravery and tallied 15 victories, achieved fame flying the highly maneuverable Fokker monoplane, the E.III. Equipped with a 110-hp Oberursel UR II engine, it was the first German aircraft to be equipped with a synchronized Spandau machine gun, a weapon that gave Germany unqualified supremacy in the air for many months. In spite of this advantage, Immelman twice shot through his own propeller, destroying the blades and his planes.

McCubbin’s F.E.2b was remarkable for its sturdy construction and excellent field of fire in all forward directions. Powered by a 120-hp Beardmore engine, it was equipped with a Lewis gun mounted on the front of the observer’s cockpit.

For nearly half a century, there was conjecture about Immelmann’s death. Some claimed that the German ace was a victim of his own artillery fire and others suggest that he overstrained his ship. His lieutenant wrote afterward, “Once again Immelmann shot his own propeller to pieces...” But George McCubbin had the last word, “Our bullets not only got him, but his prop as well.”