Kommando Nowotny

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Kommando Nowotny
Active	September 1944 - November 1944
Country	Germany
Branch	Air Force
Type	Fighter Aircraft
Role	Air superiority
Size	Air Force Gruppe
Commanders
Notable commanders	Major Walter Nowotny (26.9.44 - 8.11.44) Major Erich Hohagen (8.11.44 - 19.11.44)

Kommando Nowotny was a Luftwaffe fighter Gruppe formed during the last months of World War II for testing and establishing tactics for the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter, and was created and first commanded by Walter Nowotny, from whom it drew its name.

[edit] History

Kommando Nowotny was formed on 26 September 1944 in Achmer and Hesepe with Stab/Kommando Nowotny from Stab III./ZG 26,^[1] 1./Kommando Nowotny from 9./ZG 26, 2./Kommando Nowotny from 8./ZG 26 and 3./Kommando Nowotny (new). Thus its strength was 3 Staffeln and a Stab flight.

On 3 October it attained operational status with a complement of about 40 Me 262-1A jet interceptors. Over the next month and a half the unit operated against allied aircraft, while at the same time trying to establish proper tactics for a Jet fighter unit. It also had to deal with many technical problems plaguing the unproven Me 262.

The unit was the first to realise that a dedicated protection-squadron of propeller-driven single-engined fighters like the Bf 109 and FW 190 were a necessity for the jets, as the Me 262 could not manouver or accelerate well at low speeds, and thus was a sitting duck for any allied fighters nearby during take-off and landing.

Due to the experimental nature of the unit, and the technical difficulties in operating the jet fighters, the unit had a less than illustrious record. A total of 22 enemy aircraft were claimed for a loss of 26 Me 262s.^[2] Shortly after Walter Nowotny's death on 8 October, the unit was redesignated III./JG 7 on 19 November, and therefore ceased to exist as an independent unit.