Vol. 64, No. 4 (July-August 2013) 41

On September 1, 1943 Nowotny’s best scoring day on the Eastern Front, he downed 10 Soviet planes, five in the space of 12 minutes and another five in nine minutes at noon. During the month of September he and his ‘lucky pants’ scored 45 aerial triumphs.

In November 1943 Nowotny and his faithful wing man Lieutenant Karl “Quax” Schnorrer were mixing it up with six Soviet planes. During the encounter Quax was forced to make a low level escape from an adversary when Nowotny notified him his plane was on fire. Quax couldn’t gain altitude and couldn’t risk crash landing in the forest below so was forced to bail out. Bailing out at 70 meters didn’t sufficiently slow his descent and he was seriously injured and hospitalized for six months.

On October 19, 1943 Nowotny was summoned to the Fuhrer’s headquarters in Rastenburg to receive the Diamonds for his 250th air victory. The award of Diamonds (Eichenlaub mit Scwertern und Brillanten zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) (Figure 2) made him the eighth of 27 men to be so honored and he was declared a national hero.

Figure 2: Knight’s Iron Cross with OakleavesSwords and Diamonds.

In order to give the German people faith in the war he was turned into a propaganda machine and for the next year he traveled the country visiting factories, Luftwaffe units, assisted in the presentation of awards, gave speeches, and attended cultural events. On January 18, 1944 the city of Vienna presented him with the city’s Ehrenring, a gold signet ring with Vienna’s coat of arms.

Following D-Day on June 6, 1944 the allies were successfully entrenched in Europe and owned the air space. Nowotny, now a major, and still grounded was needed at the front. In September 1944 he transferred to France and was put in charge of the first Me 262 jet squadron, Kommando Nowotny. The unit not only had to contend with the enemy, but also with working through the “teething” phase of the Me 262 and developing the tactics appropriate for a jet unit. His unit had 30 Me 262s, however only 26 were operational.

The turbine Me 262 ushered in an entirely new era in air warfare. When the Schwalbe (Swallow) first appeared in April 1944 the Allies were in control of the air war in Europe. The 262 threatened to change all that by attacking in a wide sweeping curve, so swift it could climb through a formation of bombers faster than a Mustang could fly at level flight. The Me 262 was a highly versatile aircraft. It was a fighter, a reconnaissance plane, a bomber, a trainer, and night fighter heavily armed with four 30mm cannons and R4M rockets.

On November 8, 1944 General Adolph Galland (Luftwaffe General of Fighters) and General Keller made an inspection visit of Nowotny’s unit as it scrambled to counter a flight of enemy bombers. Radio reports signaled that enemy planes were being shot down as well as Me 262s. Nowotny, under direct orders from General Galland not to fly, told Quax, his wing man, who had returned to duty to man his plane and follow him aloft.

Once aloft Nowotny shot down a Liberator making it his 258th air victory. Was Nowotny feeling confident? He was not wearing his Abschußhose. This was the only mission he hadn’t worn them since shooting down Soviet planes over the Bay of Riga in 1941. Ground personnel could hear air combat above the clouds. The last words of Nowotny that were heard over the radio were “I’m burning! My god, my god! I’m burning!” He was in trouble, his plane was on fire, and he was losing control. The exact circumstances of Nowotny’s death remain uncertain. Was it engine failure? Was his plane hit during his approach to the bomber formation? Some claim he was shot down by 1st Lieutenant Ed “Buddy” Haydon and Captain Ernest “Feeb” Fiebelkorn, USAAF, both sharing a victory at 12:45 over Achmer on November 8, 1944.

General Galland and others witnessed Nowotny’s jet “White 8” stream down out of the clouds, roll slightly, and then crash into the ground. Other witnesses claimed they saw a falling plane suddenly explode into a burning

42 JOMSA

mass as it fell to earth ending with a dull impact. Statements of witnesses were inconsistent. It will remain an unanswered question.

“Quax” Schnorrer and his comrades drove frantically to the crash site. After sifting through the wreckage, the only salvageable things found were his left hand and pieces of his Iron Cross deformed and burnt. Gray ash filled the swastika and date of the cross (Figures 3 and 4). The victor of 258 confirmed air victories plus 50 unconfirmed found his death at Achmer on November 8, 1944. Major Walter Nowotny a national hero was no more.

Figure 3: Nowotny’s deformed and burnt Knight’s Cross.

Figure 4: A side view of the cross in Figure 3.

A few days after Nowotny’s death his unit was dissolved and moved to Lechfeld. After another five weeks of missions only four Me 262s remained from the original 30 planes. The war ended six months later on May 8, 1945. Post-war Germany was in ruins. Millions of soldiers were returning home, millions were unemployed and homeless with no money. Defeated German soldiers were selling their service awards to Allied occupation troops as a matter of survival in dismal post-war conditions.

“Quax” Schnorrer, Nowotny’s friend and faithful wing-man survived the war with 46 air victories. Quax had commandeered Nowotny’s scarred, scorched Knight’s Cross minus the Oak Leaf, Swords and Diamonds which were melted in the searing heat of jet fuel fire from Nowotny’s plane and his previous award of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords from his billets (Figure 5), as well as his uniforms. In all probability, out of desperation, he sold Nowotny’s medals and uniforms to a tailor in Vienna. Later Nowotny’s belongings were purchased from that tailor by a Canadian collector and owner of the Canadian Military Studies Museum outside of Ontario, Canada. Major Nowotny’s cross although scarred, deformed and missing the Oak Leaf, Swords and Diamonds was one of only 27 issued during World War II remains a treasured collectable even though in less than ideal condition.

Figure 5: Nowotny’s Knight’s Cross withOakleaves and Swords.

References:

Boyne, Walter J. Messerschmidt Me 262: Arrow to the Future. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980.

Held, Werner. German Fighter Ace Walter Nowotny: An Illustrated Biography. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 2006.

http://stephenesherman.com/discussions/us_german_aces.htmlWW2museums.com/article/5341/Grave-Pilot-Walter-Nowotny

Vol. 64, No. 4 (July-August 2013) 43

SECRETARY’S REPORT

April-May 2013

Those listed as new members have applied for 2013 membership in the Orders and Medals Society of America. If no proper written objection to such membership is received from any member in good standing within sixty (60) days of publication, the applicant shall be admitted to membership (Article III, Section 3 of the OMSA Constitution, and Article III, Section 2 of the OMSA By-Laws). The collecting interests of each new member as provided on the membership application follow each new member’s address.

NEW MEMBERS

#8257 Earl Willoughby, (Internet), 628 Cherry St., Dyersburg, TN 38024#8258 Frank A. Pearsall, (Internet), 102 College Station Dr., PMB 104, Brevard, NC 28712-3195#8259 John Adams-Graft, (Gift), 901 Fourth St., Ste. 50, Hudson, WI 54016#8260 Christopher Natwick, (Internet), 11048 Plum Tree Lane, Spring Valley, CA 91977 #8261 Goran Encminger, (Internet), Zeleni venac 7g, 21480 Srbobran, Serbia#8262 Jim Scott, (Internet), 713 S. Dickerson Rd., Goodlettsville, TN 37072#8263 Sam Wilson, (Internet), 210 S. 10th Street, Manhattan, KS 665026#8264 Lowell Matsuoka, (Internet), P.O. Box 1059, Kihei, HI 96753#8265 Michael Rortvedt, (Internet), 6570 Winding Way, De Forest, WI 53532#8266 Gary E. Schone, (Internet), 802 W. 5th St., Apt 1, Redfield, SD 57469

ADDRESS CHANGES & CORRECTIONS

DeGroote, Marvin, #4372, P.O. Box 1245, Arlington, TX 76004-1245Lyman, Lynden, LM#67, P.O. Box 1455, Concord, MA 01742Orders and Medals Society of Denmark, X4878, Gronnevang 17, 2970 Horsholm, DenmarkRegnerus, Scott A. #6572, 530 N Street SW., Apt 306, Washington, DC 20024-4556Rogers, R. C. Jr., #2518, P.O. Box 354, Clarkson, GA 30021-0354Russell, Douglas S. #4167, 3178 Lower West Branch Rd., Iowa City, IA 52445-4105Weaver, Barry, DM#19, 20 Bateau Rd., Hilton Head, SC 29928

End of Report Clyde L. Tinklepaugh, Jr. Secretary

PURCHASE OMSA BADGES AND MEDALS(FULL-SIZED OR MINIATURES) CONTACT: CLYDE L. TINKLEPAUGH, JR., OMSA SECRETARY PO BOX 540CLAYMONT, DE 19703-0540