Franz Büchner Franz Büchner ( 2 January 1898 – 18 March 1920 ) was one of the most successful German fighter aces of the First World War , shooting down 40 enemy aircraft . He would survive the war , but die in 1920 while combating the communist revolutionaries in his nation . Early career . Büchner was born in Leipzig in the Kingdom of Saxony , the son of a businessman . He volunteered for the army in September 1914 , aged 16 . He served in the Royal Saxon 7th Infantry Regiment Nr . 106 ( " Kgl . Sächsisches 7 . Infanterie - Regiment König Georg Nr . 106 " ) . After surviving a case of typhoid fever , he fought on both the Eastern and Western fronts . He was subsequently commissioned in 1916 shortly after his 18th birthday . He was wounded in combat in France on 3 April 1916 . After his recovery , he transferred to the German Army Air Service , or Luftstreitkräfte , and was assigned as an observation pilot with FFA 270 . Service as fighter pilot . In March 1917 Büchner became a fighter pilot , joining the Prussian Jagdstaffel 9 where he scored his first and only victory with them , on 17 August . Upon his transfer to Jagdstaffel 13 , he found his niche under Rudolph Berthold , one of Germany ' s most dedicated soldiers . However , it was several months before he scored again , on 15 October . With the introduction of the Fokker D . VII in 1918 , Büchner came into his own ; he flew at least three different machines during his career , scoring three victories in June and becoming Commanding Officer of the Jasta on 15 June . It was after his fifth victory that he landed and announced to his squadron colleagues that he had now learned how to win in aerial combat . It was a prescient statement . On 2 July , he shot down and killed " The Mad Major " , Irish 5 - victory ace Major Joseph Callaghan , CO of No . 87 Squadron , who was flying a Sopwith Dolphin in a solo attack on Jasta 13 . Five days later , he followed up with Canadian ace Lieutenant Merrill Taylor ( 7 victories ) , killed in a Sopwith Camel of No . 209 Squadron . On 29 July 1918 Büchner shot an American Sopwith Camel down in flames with just 14 rounds . His wingman , Leutnant Werner Niethammer , cited this combat as an illustration of Büchner ' s skill as a marksman ; according to Niethammer ' s account , Büchner had no sooner spotted the American than he had set the enemy aircraft on fire . This would be the last of his seven victories in July . On 10 August , Büchner ' s career nearly ended . While attacking and shooting down a two seater in bad flying weather , his plane ' s fuel tank was hit . Drenched in gasoline , he landed in no man ' s land and tagged along with two retreating German machine gunners . The incident does not seem to have slowed him down . It was the second of his eight victories in August . In September Büchner scored 17 victories , the top scoring German fighter pilot for the month . On 10 October , Büchner survived a mid - air collision with fellow Jasta pilot Michaelis ; both of them parachuted to safety . He brought his tally to 40 victories by 22 October 1918 . Three days later he was awarded the Pour le Mérite on 25 October 1918 , one of the last awards before the Kaiser ' s abdication . Post war service . In the turbulent postwar period the 22 - year - old Büchner flew against communist revolutionaries but was killed during a reconnaissance flight near his hometown of Leipzig on March 18 , 1920 , three days after Berthold was murdered in Harburg . Decorations and awards . Besides the Pour le Mérite , Prussia ' s highest military honor , Büchner also received the highest military honor of his home state , Saxony ' s Military Order of St . Henry ( " Militär - St . Heinrichs - Orden " ) , on October 7 , 1918 . Büchner ' s other decorations include the Prussian Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class , the Knight ' s Cross with Swords of Prussia ' s Royal House Order of Hohenzollern , the Knight ' s Cross with Swords of Saxony ' s Merit Order , and the Knight ' s Cross with Swords of Saxony ' s Albert Order .