Eduard Ritter von Dostler Oberleutnant Eduard Ritter von Dostler ( 3 February 1892 - 21 August 1917 ) , Pour le Mérite , Royal House Order of Hohenzollern , Military Order of Max Joseph , Iron Cross , was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 26 victories . On three consecutive assignments during World War I , Dostler was entrusted with leadership of German " jagdstaffeln " ( fighter squadrons ) . Early life and ground service . Eduard Dostler was born on 3 February 1892 in Pottenstein , Kingdom of Bavaria . He was commissioned in the 4th Pioneer Battalion of the Bavarian Army on 28 October 1912 . He was awarded the Bavarian Lifesaving Medal for saving two of his men from drowning in the Danube River in August 1914 . Later that month , Dostler went into action with his battalion in France on the Western Front . He won the Iron Cross First Class in March 1915 . He was also awarded his native Bavaria Military Service Order . Dostler ' s brother was a pilot who was killed in action . Eduard Dostler decided to switch to the " Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches " ( Imperial German Flying Corps ) because of his brother ' s death . Air service . Dostler first reported to " Schutzstaffel 27 " ( Protection Squadron ) 27 , then being reassigned to " Kampfstaffel 36 " ( Tactical Bomber Squadron 36 ) on 15 June 1916 . Dostler scored his first confirmed aerial victory while flying a Roland C . II two - seater fighter for Kasta 36 . He downed a Sopwith Scout on 17 December 1916 . He then transferred to Royal Prussian " Jagdstaffel 13 " , a newly formed squadron , taking command on 27 December 1916 . On 22 January 1917 , he scored Jasta 13 ' s initial triumph . At that time , he was already an " oberleutnant " . On 20 February 1917 , Dostler assumed command of Royal Bavarian " Jagdstaffel 34 " upon its official formation . He had it in action in three days , and scored its first victories on 24 March , shooting down a pair of Caudron G . IV bombers . By the time he left the Jasta , he had become an ace , with eight confirmed victories , and one claim unconfirmed . Dostler transferred to Royal Prussian " Jagdstaffel 6 " , assuming command in the wake of Fritz Otto Bernert ' s 9 June 1917 departure . Dostler scored a double victory on 16 June , with further wins on the 17th and 20th . Two days later , Jasta 6 was incorporated into Germany ' s first fighter wing , Jagdgeschwader I . By 26 July , when Manfred von Richthofen took command of JG I , Dostler ' s score was up to 18 . The following day , Dostler was awarded the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern . He finished the month of July 1917 with 21 victories . On 6 August , he received Germany ' s highest award for valor , the " Pour le Mérite " , which is also nicknamed the Blue Max . Dostler ' s famous commanding officer , the Red Baron himself , Manfred von Richthofen took his personal " Pour le Mérite " from around his own neck and placed it around Dostler ' s throat . Dostler shot down five enemy aircraft in August , extending his list of victims to 26 . His final victory was scored on 18 August . Three days later , Dostler attacked and was shot down by an obsolete British R . E . 8 of No . 7 Squadron RFC , flown by Lts . M . A . O ' Callaghan and N . Sharples . Dostler fell near Frezenburg , Belgium . Eduard Dostler was posthumously awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph backdated to 18 August 1917 ; its award both entitled him to a lifetime pension and knighted him . As a visible sign of his honor , his name became Eduard Ritter von Dostler . Decorations and awards . In Amberg , his parents ' home town , the Dostlerstrasse was named in his honour .