Walter Nowotny

Major Walter Nowotny (1920-1944) was one of largest the air As of the Second world war. With its 258 approved victories, it is located at the fifth rank in the list of the fighter pilots of Luftwaffe.

Late beginnings

Born with Gmünd, in Austria, on December 7th 1920, it joined the Luftwaffe only in October 1939. At that time of the war, the quality of the drive was still very high, which enabled him to profit from the one of the best formations ever given to young pilots; this explains also the fact that it joined the face only in February 1941, when it was transferred to JG.54 " Grünherz" (squadron of hunting 54 " hearts verts"). It was to know animated beginnings of combat: thus on July 19th 1941, after having obtained its first three victories meadows of the island of Osel, it was in its turn touched by the enemy shooting and had " crasher" its Bf 109 in the Baltic . He survived this ditching but did not spend from there less three days on its dinghy, rowing with its hands, before joining the coast. It took him just a year to exceed the bar of the 50 victories; what it makes a success of on August 4th 1942 by cutting down 7 Soviet planes during the same day. Exactly a month later, on September 4th 1942, it accepted the Ritterkreuz and the next on October 25th it was named Staffelkapitan of the 9 JG.54; what represented an enormous responsibility for an young man for hardly 21 years.

1943: the advent of have

It is at the summer 1943, that Walter Nowotny left " the anonymat" and, as of June, it accumulated successes: 41 victories in June, 49 in August, 45 in September and 31 in October. It obtained thus its hundredth victory on June 15th, the 150° on August 18th and the 200° in September. To reach with a similar prize list he knew a succession of days to the multiple victories:

the 6/8/1943: 6 victories,
the 8/13/1943: 9 victories,
the 8/18/1943: 6 victories,
the 8/21/1943: 7 victories,
the 9/1/1943: 10 victories,
the 9/2/1943: 6 victories,
the 9/14/1943: 6 victories,
the 10/9/1943: 8 victories

Decorations followed the frantic rate of its successes: September 4th it accepted the Eichenlaub and the 22 of the same month it were the 37° member elect of the Schwerter. October 1943 was for him the month of all the records: in ten days it obtained 32 victories and, on October 14th 1943, it became the first pilot in the world to cross the " cap" of the 250 approved victories . With a similar prize list, obtained during 442 missions, he was the eighth soldier of the German army to see itself decorated with the Brillanten. He was just 22 years old and only four others pilot were to reach and exceed its score: Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn, Günther Rall and Otto Kittel.

1944: end of a pilot out-par

In February 1944, it was named for five months with the command of the Schulegeschwader.101 (squadron-school 101), stationed in France. It appeared a remarkable pedagog there and several its pupils must with the quality of his instruction and its practical advices, to not only survive the future combat, but also to be able to reach them-also with the statute of ace. Then in July 1944 it was required of him to form an experimental unit equipped with new the Messerschmitt Me 262 with reaction. It created the Kommando Nowotny which it informed and led to the combat against the bombers four-engined planes B-17 and B-24, cutting down three of those, its only successes gained over the Western face. November 8th 1944, shortly after its takeoff, of the witnesses transfer his Me 262 to be crushed in flames. The exact circumstances of its death are more precise today. It would have collected a bird in one of the engines of sound 262 which ignited, its apparatus was crushed in flames, Nowotny died of its burns a few days later. At all events and with the same dires of the one of its adversaries, the French ace Pierre Clostermann, his death did not leave any the indifferent belligerent pilots: it is all to say reputation of this ace to the 258 victories.

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