Walter Nowotny
![Nowotny being awarded by Hitler, 1943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Adolf_Hitler_hands_the_award_to_Walter_Nowotny.jpg)
Nowotny joined the Luftwaffe in 1939 and completed his fighter pilot training in 1941, after which he was posted to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 "Grünherz" (JG 54) on the Eastern Front. Nowotny was the first pilot to achieve 250 victories – 194 in 1943 alone – earning him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on 19 October 1943. For propaganda reasons, he was ordered to cease operational flying.
Reinstated to front-line service in September 1944, Nowotny tested and developed tactics for the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. He was credited with three victories in this aircraft type before being killed in a crash following combat with United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) fighters on 8 November 1944. It is thought his engine might have failed. After his death, the first operational jet fighter wing, ''Jagdgeschwader'' 7 "Nowotny", was named in his honour. Provided by Wikipedia
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Published: 1962
Superior document: Buchreihe des Landesmuseums für Kärnten 9