During his last ten days on the Eastern Front, ending on October 14, 1943, Walter Nowotny, 'Nowi' or the 'Tiger of Wolchowstroj', shot down 32 Russian aircraft, including 8 on September 10, 1943 (224-231) and 6 on 13 (239-244) and 14 October (245-250). Nowotny was the first pilot in history to pass 250 victories and was now the top-scoring fighter ace of the Luftwaffe. On October 19, he became the eighth recipient of the Brillanten, by Adolf Hitler. The Nazi propaganda machine turned Nowotny into a 'superstar' of the Luftwaffe. He had received the highest military awards available: Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten and was withdrawn from combat activity by the High Command. During the following months, his main role was to perform propaganda and moral-boosting duties.
