Immelmann andOswald Boelcke were awarded the Orden Pour le Mérite (Blue Max) on January 12, 1916. Later that year, Immelmann was killed in a dogfight with seven British aircraft. His death, like that of many other aces, was controversial. While the British credited the pilot of an FE.2b with his loss, the Germans proclaimed that the synchronized machine gun on his Fokker E.III malfunctioned and he shot his own propellor off during the heat of battle.

With the introduction of aircraft armed with forward firing machine guns, Immelmann laid the foundation for single seat fighter tactics in World War I. Today, Immelmann is best remembered for the "Immelmann turn," a half-loop followed by a half-roll.