 In September 1944 , Nowotny was made commander of a specialist unit dubbed Kommando Nowotny , flying the newly developed Messerschmitt Me 262 out of airfields near Osnabrück . The unit not only had to contend with the enemy , but also with working through the ' teething ' phase of the Me 262 and developing the tactics appropriate for a jet unit . On 7 October , Nowotny downed a B @-@ 24 Liberator bomber , his first aerial victory on the Western Front . 
