Walter Nowotny

Infobox Military Person
name=Walter Nowotny
born=birth date|1920|12|7|df=y
died=death date and age|1944|11|8|1920|12|7|df=y
placeofbirth=Gmünd
placeofdeath=Hesepe


caption=Walter Nowotny
nickname="Nowi", "Tiger of Wolchowstroj"
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
serviceyears=1939-1944
rank=Major
branch=Luftwaffe
commands=I./JG 54, JG 101, Kommando Nowotny
unit=JG 54, JG 101 and Kommando Nowotny
battles=World War II
*Operation Barbarossa
awards=Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillianten
laterwork=

Major Walter "Nowi" Nowotny (December 7, 1920 – November 8, 1944) was an Austrian-born German fighter ace of World War II with 258 confirmed victories in 442 missions, 255 victories over Russian pilots. First to achieve 250 aerial victories. He was prohibited to fly by Nazi officials, because they were afraid to lose such a star. By many considered as greatest fighter pilot of all time, by considering relation of his victories to his sorties.

Early life

He was born in Gmünd, a small town in Lower Austria. He joined the Luftwaffe in October 1939 and undertook his training near Vienna at "Jagdfliegerschule 5". The new "Leutnant" was posted to 9./JG 54 [For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organization] in February 1941, assigned to the Eastern Front.

World War II

Flying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 he claimed his first two enemy aircraft (both Polikarpov I-153 biplanes) of VVS KBF's 12 OIAE/61 BAB, over Saaremaa on July 19 1941, and was shot down in the same enagement by St.Lt Babernov in a Yak 1. According to Soviet archives, no Soviet aircraft was lost in the engagement. Nowotny spent three days in a dinghy in the Gulf of Riga. [Bergstrom 2007, p. 36.] At year's end he was credited with ten victories.

In 1942, Nowotny continued to increase his successes, shooting down five aircraft on a single day in July and seven on 2 August. He was shot down again on 11 August and sustained moderate injuries in a crash-landing. In September, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, having achieved 56 victories. He was made "Staffelkapitän" of 1./JG 54 on 25 October.

In January 1943, JG 54 started converting to the Focke-Wulf 190 fighter. With the new aircraft "Nowi" scored at an unprecedented rate, often averaging more than two planes a day for weeks on end. He scored his 75th victory in March and his 100th in June — shooting down forty-one aircraft that month. In August, he was promoted to "Oberleutnant", made "Gruppenkommandeur" of I./JG 54, and shot down forty-nine aircraft. On 1 September, he scored ten victories in two sorties. He claimed his 200th victory on 8 September and had "Eichenlaub" added to his Knight's Cross, was promoted to "Hauptmann" and had the "Schwerter" added a few weeks later.

On 14 October 1943, Nowotny became the first pilot ever to reach 250 victories, and his Knight's Cross was augmented with diamonds (the "Brillanten"). He was the eighth recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves, Swords, and Diamonds, and was withdrawn from combat and given a long series of propaganda activities. He had shot down 255 enemy aircraft: 196 in 1943 alone.

Death

Nowotny was "Geschwaderkommodore" of JG 101, a training unit, from April 1944. In September 1944, he was made commander of the specialist unit dubbed "Kommando Nowotny", flying the new Messerschmitt Me 262 out of airfields near Osnabrück. The unit had not only the enemy to contend with, they also had to work through the "teething" phase of the Me 262 and also develop the tactics appropriate for a Jet unit. Two Rotten of Me 262 were prepared to take-off on 8 November 1944, Erich Büttner and Franz Schall at Hesepe, and Nowotny and Günther Wegmann at Achmer. But only two Me 262 managed to take-off. Büttner had a punctured tire during taxiing and Nowotny's turbines initially refused to start. Nowotny had achieved three victories in his temperamental aircraft (two B-24s and a P-51) before he was killed in a crash following his Me 262 being shot down by USAAF Capt. Ernest Fiebelkorn (20th Fighter Group) and 1st Lt. Edward "Buddy" Haydon (357th Fighter Group) east of Hesepe. His Me 262 A-1a (W.Nr. 110 400) "White 8" was seen to dive vertically out of the clouds and crash at Epe, 2.5 kilometres east of Hesepe.Walter Nowotny was buried at the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna in a grave of honor sponsored by the city of Vienna, which was still part of Nazi Germany then. Upon an initiative of the Austrian Green Party and debates in the Vienna Landtag, a resolution supported by Social Democrats and Greens was passed to remove the status of honor in 2003.

Awards

* Order of the Cross of Liberty 1st Class
* "Ehrenabzeichen der finnischen Luftwaffe"
* Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds
* Eastern Front Medal
* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for fighter pilots in Gold with pennant "400" (17 May 1942)
* Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (14 July 1942)
* Wound Badge (1939) in Black
* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* German Cross in Gold (21 August 1942)
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
** Knight's Cross (4 September 1942)
** Oak Leaves (5 September 1943)
** Swords (22 September 1943}
** Diamonds (19 October 1943)
* Mentioned six times in the Wehrmachtbericht

References

* Berger, Florian. "Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges" (in German). Wien, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 1999. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
* Bergstrom, Christer (2007). "Barbarossa - The Air Battle: July-December 1941". London: Chervron/Ian Allen. ISBN 978-1-85780-270-2.
* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
* Held, Werner. "Der Jagdflieger Walter Nowotny Bilder und Dokumente". Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag, 1998. ISBN 3-87943-979-6.

* [http://www.luftwaffe.cz/nowotny.html Aces of the Luftwaffe - Walter Nowotny bio and complete victory list]
* [http://www.jg54greenhearts.com/Now.htm JG54greenhearts.com - Walter Nowotny bio]
* [http://www.acepilots.com/german/nowotny.html Acepilots.com - Walter Nowotny bio]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFbdtCWYOXQ&feature=related In Action @ YouTube]
*

See also

* Flying ace
* List of top World War II aces