Friedrich - Karl " Nasen " Müller Friedrich - Karl Müller — " Nasen - Müller " — ( 4 December 1912 – 2 November 1987 ) was one of the most successful Luftwaffe night fighter ace s during World War II . Early career . He first received flying training in 1934 and joined the German airline Deutsche Lufthansa . At the beginning of World War ΙΙ , Müller was posted to KG z . b . V . 172 as a transport pilot flying the Junkers Ju 52 . He was promoted to Feldwebel and assigned to 5 . / KG z . b . V . 172 . After participating in the Polish campaign , in February 1940 , Müller became an instructor at " Blindflugschule " 4 and promoted to Leutnant . He served with " Blindflugschule " 7 from September until December 1942 , when he moved to I gruppe , Kampfgeschwader 50 as Technical Officer , the unit being equipped with the new Heinkel He 177 heavy bomber . Entry into Night Fighting . In summer 1943 , Müller joined Hajo Herrmann as part of the latter ' s experimental " Wilde Sau " single - engine night fighting unit " Stab / Versuchskommando Herrmann " . Herrmann considered Müller an ideal candidate for the role because of his blind flying instructing experience . On the night of 3 / 4 July , Müller recorded his first " Wilde Sau " victory , a Halifax near Cologne . On the night of 22 October , Müller ' s fighter suffered engine failure , and he was slightly injured after baling out . In mid August Müller was appointed Technical Officer of JG 300 . He claimed two victories on 11 August 1943 , both Halifax bombers near Heidelberg . Two Lancasters was claimed near Swinemünde on 17 August 1943 and two Stirlings were claimed downed over Berlin on 24 August 1943 . Muller then claimed a Lancaster SE of Munich on 7 September 1943 . By November 1943 , Müller was " Staffelkapitän " of 1 . / JG 300 and had 19 night victories to his credit . In January 1944 , Müller was appointed " Gruppenkommandeur " of 1 . / Nachtjagdgruppe 10 ( NJGr 10 ) and was charged with evaluating all aspects of technical and tactical experimentation concerning single - engined night fighting , especially countering operations by the RAF ' s Mosquito fast bomber . Hauptmann Müller was awarded the " Ritterkreuz " on 27 July 1944 for 23 victories . He then became commander of I . / Nachtjagdgeschwader 11 ( NJG 11 ) on 25 August 1944 . Müller continued to fly against the RAF night bomber streams , sometimes flying a personal Bf 109G - 14 uniquely fitted with an oblique - mounted MG 151 / 20 cannon in a Schräge Musik installation behind the cockpit . Muller claimed a Mosquito near Eindhoven on 23 August 1944 and a Lancaster over Frankfurt on 12 September 1944 . A double victory was claimed over Lancasters on 4 December 1944 . By late 1944 and into 1945 , Müller flew numerous nocturnal ground attack missions against Allied railway targets and supply columns . His last known victories were both on 21 February 1945 . Towards the end of the war , I . / NJG 11 received a few Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters to experiment with in night interceptions . Müller survived the war and died on 2 November 1987 . Müller was one of the leading single - seat night fighter aces with 30 night victories ( and three unconfirmed ) claimed in 52 missions .