| Max Ritter von Mulzer | |
| Birth Date: | 9 July 1893 |
| Death Date: | 26 September 1916 (aged 23) |
| Birth Place: | Kimratshofen, Allgäu, Kingdom of Bavaria |
| Death Place: | Valenciennes, France |
| Allegiance: | Germany |
| Branch: | Cavalry; aviation |
| Serviceyears: | 1914–1916 |
| Rank: | Leutnant |
| Unit: | 8th Cavalry Regiment; Feldflieger Abteilung 4 (FFA 4); Flieger-Abteilung 62 (FA 62 |
}Leutnant Max Ritter von Mulzer was a German World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.[1] He was the first Bavarian fighter ace, first Bavarian ace recipient of the Pour le Merite, and first Bavarian knighted for his exploits.[2]
Max Mulzer was born on 9 July 1893 in the Kingdom of Bavaria in the German Empire.[2]
Mulzer graduated from cadet training with the Royal Bavarian Cadet Corps on 10 July 1914,[3] and was commissioned in the 8th Cavalry Regiment on 13 December 1914. He transferred to aviation on 20 August 1915. He was posted to FA 4 on 13 December, but soon joined Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann in FFA 62.[2] Indeed, Mulzer and Immelmann often flew together, and were referred to, respectively, as "Bavarian Max" and "Saxon Max" to differentiate them.[4] "Bavarian Max"'s first victory, on 13 March 1916, went unconfirmed, but he had three confirmed victories between 30 March and 31 May.[1] When FA 62 shipped out for service in Russia, Mulzer transferred to KEK Nord in June 1916[2] and tallied three more wins during the month,[1] with the second one occurring during the dogfight during which his friend Immelmann was killed.[5]
Mulzer had the honor of carrying Immelmann's decorations on the black velvet Ordenkissen cushion in the funeral procession.[6] Afterwards, he then had a fleeting assignment to FFA 32, and went on to KEK 'B'. He scored twice for them, on 8 and 22 July; the eight victories were enough at that time to earn him the Blue Max.[7] He also received the Military Order of Max Joseph and thus earned a lifetime pension and became a non-hereditary knight entitled to be addressed by the honorific "Ritter von".[8] He moved on to FA 32, and scored twice more.[2] [1]
On 26 September, the day after Kurt Wintgens died, Mulzer had a new airplane to test fly. Apparently prompted by news of his old comrade's death, Mulzer remarked, "Immelmann is dead. Parschau is dead, Wintgens is dead. Now I am next in line." Then he took off from the Valenciennes airfield on a test flight, side-slipped his Albatros D.I into a hard bank, lost control, and crashed to his death.[9]