BLACK NOVEMBER DAY
On the morning of 8 November 1944, with Kommando Nowotny’s Me262s still plagued by mechanical problems, Major Walter Nowotny stands down after his aircraft’s jet turbine fails to ignite. Later, in the early afternoon, he took off in company with Lt. Frank Schall. After downing a B-17G, and probably a P-51D, he reported an engine failure. His last transmission before the crash in which he died, included the garbled words “burning – on fire”.
