Friedrich Rupp, Horst Hannig and Walter Nowotny

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Dear Teresa,


Actually the picture you enclosed is one amongst several others showing Erich Rudorffer on the left side and Nowotny on the right side, on a Group photo of airmen from JG 54 with their Kommodore. This is why I asked Herr Rudorffer about Nowotny, on my first letter to him...Rudorffer answered (in German) that he never met or knew Nowotny! (in spite of the picture saying the contrary...).

Me too, I do have the book JG 54: A Photographic History of the Grunherzjager (by Ekkehard Bob; Hannes Trautloft; Werner Held) but it is not nearby my hand now. Sorry.

So, we do have photographic evidence that Rudorffer and Nowotny, at least met once, on the day that picture (or other pictures) were taken. Of course, they may just have shaked hands, not talked too much...

Hannig flew with 6 and commanded 5./JG 54 (II Gruppe), whilst Nowotny flew mostly with the Ergänzungsgruppe, 3 and 1./JG 54 before commanding the I Gruppe.

Do not remember, by heart and memory now, if at one time all JG 54 operated from a single base. If so, it is possible that they have met visually.

I guess, it was not easy at that time to make friends (real friends), etc...If you fly more with one or another "pal", you can establish friendship. I flew with several Captains and students and, of course, with some the friendship was easy and more solid than with others.

Answering your question, I am from Brazil (married and father of a wonderful kid of 12 months and one week) and writing about the Brazilians in RAF Service (WW1 - one Project - and WW2 - a major work with already more than 1,600 written pages, covering 100+ biographies). Another Brazilian is writing about the Brazilians in Luftwaffe Service, 1939-45...it is known that some Brazilian born flew with the LW in WW2, like Egon Albrecht, Thiele, etc.

I was once, starting a good research about Nowotny, but gave up, even after contacting his brother and some former airmen of Kommando Nowotny.

Adriano B.