Novotny, Walter

Walter Nowotny
Walter Nowotny
	him. Walter nowotny
Nickname	Novi ( German: Nowi ), Volkhovstroy Tiger
Date of Birth	December 7, 1920
Place of Birth	Gmund , Austria
Date of death	November 8, 1944 ( 23)
Place of death	Bramsche , Germany
Affiliation	Germany
Type of army
Years of service	1939-1944
Rank	Major
Part	Jg 54; Jg 101
Commanded	I./JG54 JG 101 Kommando Nowotny
Battles / wars	The Second World War

Walter "Novi" Nowotny ( German Walter "Nowi" Nowotny ; December 7, 1920 - November 8, 1944 ) - German pilot ace of World War II , during which he made 442 sorties, having won 258 victories in the air, 255 of them on the Eastern Front and 2 over 4-engine bombers. He won the last 3 victories by flying a Me.262 fighter jet. Most of his victories were gained by flying on FW 190 , and about 50 victories on Messerschmitt Bf 109 . He was the first pilot in the world to win 250 victories. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with oak leaves, swords and diamonds .

The grave of Walter Nowotny

Content

Biography

Walter Nowotny was born in the city of Gmund in Austria, in the family of a railway employee. In his youth, he was actively involved in sports (athletics), in 1938 he graduated from high school. Since October 1939, Novotny volunteered in the Luftwaffe , where he wanted to be a pilot of the Ju-87, but an experienced instructor recognized his talent as a fighter. During the Second World War, Walter Novotny rose to the rank of Major, and was appointed commander of the new Kommando Nowotny fighter aviation unit ( Novotny Command ) equipped with Me.262 fighter jets. In total, Walter Nowotny made 442 sorties, has 258 officially counted victories, 255 of which he won on the Eastern Front. The first victory was three downed I-153s, but he himself was shot down, after which he spent three days in an inflatable boat until he was nailed to the Estonian coast.

Last Flight

On the afternoon of November 8, 1944, Novotny flew off from the Ahmer airfield on Me-262 A-1 to intercept American bombers in low cloud cover. The circumstances of the battle are not fully clarified, on the ground they only heard gunfire coming from behind the clouds. According to his radio reports, he shot down a B-24 bomber and a P-51 fighter, then he reported that his plane was on fire. What happened next remains unknown. His Messerschmitt crashed 5 km northeast of Ahmer near the town of Bramsche , Novotny died.

Helmut Lennartz recalls:

I well remember the fall of Novotny. Feldfebel Gossler - the radio operator of our regiment - tuned in a radio through which I and many others listened to radio messages transmitted by Novotny. His last words were “I'm burning” or “The plane is on fire.” The words were a little distorted.

Rewards

Order of the Cross of Liberty
Honorary Pilot of Finland
Pilot sign
Premium Sauer 38H
Medal "For the Winter Campaign in the East 1941/42"
Aircraft bar in gold with a "400" pennant (May 17, 1942)
Luftwaffe Honorary Cup (July 14, 1942)
Breastplate “For the wound” III degree (1939)
Honorary Resident of Vienna (January 11, 1944)
Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd grade
- 1st grade
German cross in gold (August 21, 1942)
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
- Knight's Cross (September 4, 1942)
- 293rd, Oak Leaves (September 5, 1943)
- 37th, Swords (September 22, 1943)
- 8th, Diamonds (October 19, 1943)
Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht six times

Mention in the " Wehrmachtbericht "

date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht Record	Literal translation into Russian
September 2, 1943	Oberleutnant Nowotny, Führer einer Jagdfliegergruppe, erzielte gestern zehn Luftsiege.	Oberleutenant Novotny - commander of the fighter group - won 10 victories in the air yesterday.
September 9, 1943	Deutsche und rumänische Fliegerverbände unterstützten auch gestern in zahlreichen Einsätzen die Truppen des Heeres. Dabei erzielte Oberleutnant Nowotny, Führer einer Jagdfliegergruppe, seinen 196. bis 200. Luftsieg.	The German and Romanian Air Force again support ground forces with numerous sorties. Oberleutenant Novotny - the commander of the fighter group - during these flights increased his personal account from 196 to 200 victories.
September 16, 1943	Oberleutnant Nowotny, Führer einer Jagdfliegergruppe, schoß in den beiden letzten Tagen an der Ostfront 12 feindliche Flugzeuge ab und errand damit seinen 215. Luftsieg.	Oberleutenant Novotny - the commander of the fighter group - on the Eastern Front over the past two days shot down 12 enemy aircraft and brought the number of his victories to 215.
October 10, 1943	Hauptmann Nowotny erhöhte durch acht Abschüsse die Zahl seiner Luftsiege auf 231.	Hauptmann Nowotny, having shot down eight planes, achieved 231 air victories.
October 15, 1943	Hauptmann Nowotny, Gruppenkommandeur in einem Jagdgeschwader, erzielte gestern an der Ostfront den 250. Luftsieg.	Hauptmann Nowotny - the commander of the fighter link - yesterday chalked up his 250th air victory on the Eastern Front.
November 9, 1944	Gruppenkommandeur Major Walter Nowotny, Inhaber der höchsten deutschen Tapferkeitsauszeichnung, fand im Luftkampf nach Abschuß seines Gegners den Heldentod. Mit ihm verliert die deutsche Luftwaffe einen ihrer erfolgreichsten Jagdflieger, der insgesamt 258 Luftsiege errungen hat.	The commander of the fighter group, Major Walter Nowotny, the holder of the highest German award for courage, met a heroic death in battle, knocking down his opponent. Together with him, the Luftwaffe lost one of its most successful fighter pilots, which achieved 258 air victories.

Links

Peter Kashi website