Walter Novotny is the name of a man who went down in history as a fighter pilot during World War II. His life, like a flash, ended just before it began. If it were not for the fact that Navotny fought on the side of the Nazis, one could consider him a hero worthy of eternal memory.
early years
Walter Nowotny was born on December 7, 1920 in the Austrian city of Gmunde. His father served on the railway. Walter grew up a supporter of a healthy lifestyle, in his youth he was seriously involved in sports, having established himself as a capable athlete.
At the time the guy graduated from high school, Europe was already “five minutes” from a big fire. The war was about to begin. And the young man voluntarily joins the ranks of the Luftwaffe. He wanted to fly, dreamed of piloting the Ju-87, but his desire did not come true.
So what did Walter Novotny become famous in the end? What did he fly “behind his laurels”? The instructor, “dragging” the young fighter and future ace, saw in him the talent of a fighter and put him on the appropriate aircraft. And, I must say, I was not mistaken in the forecasts. Walter lived up to all his expectations, becoming an outstanding fighter pilot.
The Second World War
After graduating from the fighter school in Schwechat in 1941, Walter Nowotny was enlisted in the First Air Fleet, stationed in East Prussia. He took part in the Soviet-German military campaign from its first days.
Novotny opened his winning score over the waters of the Gulf of Riga on July 19th, 41, having shot down three Soviet Chaika (I-153). This operation was not easy for him - the pilot had to land his plane on the water and hold out for three days.
Over the next year, another 50 enemy aircraft became victims of the Austrian, and by June of the 43rd year there were already a total of 100. At that time, the Luftwaffe soldier was the commander of the first squadron of the fifty-fourth fighter squadron and the owner of the Knight's Cross. The next seventy-two “iron birds” of the enemy were shot down in the same number of days. Roughly speaking, every day Novotny destroyed one enemy aircraft.
The most “fruitful” for the pilot was the first of September 1943, when in 17 minutes he shot down 7 Soviet aircraft, and then for the next 9 3 more opponents. For these battles, the young Walter received several honorary awards from his command.
The last victory of the hero of this article, who rose to the rank of major, on the Soviet-German front dates back to the fourteenth of November 1943. It was already the 255th Soviet aircraft shot down by him. In total, on his account there are 258 of them (for 442 sorties).
That such an ace was the Austrian Walter Nowotny. Which airplane this outstanding German virtuoso flew on is interesting to many. It should be answered that he was one of the first to “curb” the jet “bird”. Slightly more than 200 victories over the enemy won at the helm of the FW 190, and the rest - controlling the Messerschmitt Bf 109.
Companions Novotny
A few words deserve the people who helped Walter Novotny in his victorious operations. These are Karl Schnorrer, Anton Debele and Rudolf Rademacher. Schnorrera comrades called "Kvaks" by analogy with the cartoon hero, who always crashed. This ally of Novotna at first constantly had problems during the landing. But he was the only one of the four pilots who survived (though he lost his leg). On account of Schnorrera 46 downed aircraft. His partner Debele won 94 air victories and died in November of the forty-third year. And Rademacher, who destroyed 126 enemy aircraft, said goodbye to life after the war - the manned vehicle crashed.
The noble act of Walter Nowotny
In addition to the fact that Walter Novotny became the first person in the world to cross the line of 250 downed planes (later his record was broken, and he became only the fifth among the Luftwaffe pilots), this man distinguished himself by yet another, one can say heroic and, of course, noble act . He decided on a bold protest, writing a letter personally to Hitler criticizing the intention to shoot 47 captured pilots who attempted to escape from the camp where they were held.
It is not known whether this letter had any effect (Hitler did not officially respond to the letter), but the act itself indicates that Novotny was able not only to fight well, but also to respect the enemy. He was also a fearless man.
Last flight
On November 8, a German aircraft flew up from the airfield Amher into the sky, which was supposed to intercept the raid of American bombers. From the clouds came the sounds of shooting, one of the "Americans" fell. And then the radio operator heard the illegible words "I'm burning" or "The plane is on fire." So, at the age of 24, the legendary Luftwaffe pilot Walter Nowotny died. His photo forever preserved the image of a young smiling guy who, unfortunately, happened to become a cog in a large bloody meat grinder and leave this world without ever starting to really live.