History
Kommando Nowotny was formed on 26 September 1944 in Achmer and Hesepe with Stab/Kommando Nowotny from Stab III./Zerstörergeschwader 26 (ZG 26), 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 262A-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 single piston-engined, single-seat fighters like the Bf 109G and Fw 190 were a necessity for the jets, as the Me 262 could not manoeuver 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. Shortly after Walter Nowotny's death on 8 November, the unit was redesignated III./Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7) on 19 November, and therefore ceased to exist as an independent unit.
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