On 3rd September Müller was awarded the Order Pour Le Merite, the 29th German aviator to be so rewarded. Credited with 38 victories he was shot down in flames on 9th January 1918. He was posthumously awarded the Military Max-Joseph Order on 7th November 1918. Max Müller the locksmith apprentice from Rottenberg had received the highest decorations that Prussia and Bavaria could bestow. Max Ritter von Müller would be assured of a place in German military aviation, the highest scoring Bavarian fighter pilot in World War 1.
The picture below depicts Max Müller attacking Lieutenant Sidney Thompson of 27 Squadron Royal Flying Corps.
Müller if flying his usual aeroplane an Albatros D. III (D 1154/17) on August 24th 1917 and is about to open fire on Second Lieutenant Sidney Thompson flying Martinsyde 100 "Elephant" (7276) on a daylight bombing raid. Damage is caused to Thompson's fuel tanks and engine and he is forced down behind enemy lines to become a prisoner of war.
