Even though his last statements were muddled, Nowotny’s aircraft was struck and on fire when he plunged to his death
For their respective air forces, the Me 262 and P-51 Mustang were the cutting edges in terms of design, performance, and combat capabilities.
The Me 262, which made its operational debut in the summer of 1944 and was powered by the Jumo 004 jet engine, was faster and more powerful than anything the Allies possessed. However, the availability of both machines and trained pilots was becoming an insurmountable problem for the Luftwaffe.
The USAAF, meanwhile, finally had a fighter with the “legs” to escort its heavy bombers deep into Reich airspace, and back, for well over 1,000 miles in the P-51, fitted with the Rolls-Royce (Packard) Merlin engine and drop tanks. Furthermore, while having a different powerplant and top speed from the feared Me 262, the P-51 was more than capable of competing against it on an equal footing if flown to its strengths. In actuality, the Mustang would emerge as the enemy of the Luftwaffe fighter arm.
Since August 1944, the USAAF had been aware of the Luftwaffe’s beginning to use the Me 262 in small numbers over the Western Front in both the fighter and bomber roles, according to Robert Forsyth’s account in his book Me 262 Vs P-51 Mustang. Meetings between Allied fighters and “jet jobs” gradually increased as the summer gave way to fall, but there was something of a cat-and-mouse nature about them.
One of the earliest known engagements between a P-51 and a Me 262 took place on Aug. 20 when a Mustang pilot reported spotting “a ship similar to an A-20.” The pilot went on to describe how the jet “turned into the sun from ‘six o’clock’. We turned into this attack, but due to the tremendous speed of the enemy aircraft, I was unable to get my guns on him. We easily out-maneuvered him, and when he dived past us, I realized the enemy aircraft was jet-propelled.” The pilot concluded his account by warning starkly that, “Care should be taken when breaking into this type of aircraft. The break should start much sooner than is necessary when fighting Me 109s or Fw 190s. This is due to the tremendous speed of the enemy aircraft.”
A Mustang “jockey” wouldn’t claim the first Me 262 “scalps” until October 7. Despite having started operational flying four days earlier, Kommando Nowotny’s first mission of any significance wasn’t carried out until the 7th, when a formation of Me 262s piloted by the legendary Hauptmann Georg-Peter Eder prepared to take off from Achmer to intercept enemy bombers attacking oil targets. Eder had to abort when one of his Jumo engines flamed out as the jets started to move across the concrete taxiways.
The P-51D of 361st FG pilot 1Lt Urban L. Drew swooped down while the three other Me 262s, flown by Oberleutnant Paul Bley, Leutnant Gerhard Robert, and Oberfahnrich Heinz Russell, proceeded to taxi out for takeoff.
When a “box” of B-17 bombers came back from attacking one of the refineries, Drew, who was in charge of the 375th FS, noticed a dogfight below the bombers and left his section to descend with his own flight to investigate. He duly joined up with some other Flying Fortresses that were in need of suitable escort after discovering that the aircraft had dispersed when he arrived on the scene. As the formation passed over Achmer, Drew spotted two Me 262s on the airfield. For a few moments he monitored their progress:
‘The lead ship was in take-off position on the east-west runway and the taxiing ship got into position for a formation take-off. I waited until they were both airborne and then rolled over from 15,000 ft and headed for the attack, with my flight behind me. I caught up with the second Me 262 when he was about 1,000ft off the ground. I was indicating 450 mph and the jet aircraft could not have been going over 200mph. I started firing from about 400 yards, with 30 degrees deflection. As I closed on him, I observed hits all over the wings and fuselage.’
This aircraft, which blew up soon as it was taking off, was possibly Leutnant Kobert’s. Drew’s P-51 flew directly through the victim’s burning remains and dispersed the debris.
‘Just as I passed him I saw a sheet of flame come out near the right wing root. As I glanced back I saw a gigantic explosion, and a sheet of red-orange flame shot out over an area of about 1,000ft. The other jet aircraft was about 500 yards ahead of me and had started a fast climbing turn to the left. I was still indicating about 400mph and I had to haul back on the stick to stay with him.’
Oberfahnrich Russel might have been piloting the Me 262, which collapsed under machine gun fire from the P-51. Drew explained:
‘I had started shooting from about 60ndegrees deflection at 300 yards and my bullets were just hitting the tail section of the enemy aircraft. I kept horsing back on the stick and my bullets crept up the fuselage to the cockpit. Just then I saw the canopy go flying off in two sections and the plane rolled over and went into a flat spin. He hit the ground on his back at about a 60-degree angle. I did not see the pilot bailout. The enemy aircraft exploded violently, and as I looked back at the two wrecks there were two mounting columns of black smoke.’
Oberleutnant Bley’s plane crashed on the runway amid the commotion, but he managed to flee. Despite the fact that his gun camera was unable to capture the action on video, 1Lt Drew claimed responsibility for the downing of two Me 262s.
As the Luftwaffe increased the rate of Me 262 sorties in November, the battle against the jets became more intense. On the first day of the month, Oberfahnrich Willi Banahaff of 3./ Kommando Nowotny was forced to leave following a run-in with P-51s over Holland. However, 24 hours later, there was a relief when Feldwebel Erich Buttner shot down a P-51 and a P-47. The loss of three more jets to Mustangs on November 4 dampened this event, though.
Worse was to come when Major Walter Nowotny, the famed commander of the Kommando and one of the most distinguished pilots in the Luftwaffe, finally took off to combat the enemy in a Me 262 on the afternoon of November 8. For his 257th and 258th victories, the ace downed a P-51 and a four-engine bomber, but on his way home, he was apparently intercepted by Mustangs thought to have been flown by ace Capt Ernest C. “Feeb” Fiebelkorn of the 20th FG and 1 Lt Edward “Buddy” Haydon of the 357th FG, who each has been given credit for a shared kill. Whatever the reason, Nowotny’s cracking voice could be heard on the radio a short while afterward.
Adolf Galland witnessed events from the ground. ‘A Me 262 appeared out of the cloud and dived vertically into the ground. There was black smoke and an explosion.’ Even though his last words were muddled, Nowotny’s aircraft was struck and on fire when he plunged to his death.
Me 262 Vs P-51 Mustang is published by Osprey Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo by U.S. Air Force
