 The Brillanten ( Diamonds ) were presented by Hitler at the Wolfsschanze , near Kętrzyn ( German : Rastenburg ) on 19 October 1943 . Nowotny immediately went on a short vacation to Vienna before returning to his front @-@ line unit . On 29 October 1943 , Nowotny presented the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes ( Knight 's Cross of the Iron Cross ) to Oberfeldwebel Otto Kittel . In the days following , Nowotny flew as wingman to Karl Schnörrer , helping him accumulate further victories . On 11 November , Anton <unk> was killed when he rammed an Il @-@ 2 Sturmovik . The next day , 12 November 1943 , Schnörrer was severely injured after bailing out at low altitude . Schnörrer was replaced as Nowotny 's wingman by Unteroffizier Ernst Richter . With Richter , Nowotny claimed his final two aerial victories on the Eastern Front on 15 November 1943 . In total , Nowotny had claimed 255 confirmed kills plus a further 50 unconfirmed , before he was taken off combat duty . 
