page_title: Egon Mayer
section_title: Group commander
hierarchical_section_title: Egon Mayer / World War II / Group commander
caption_attribution_description: English: Robert S. Johnson, American World War II flying ace. Photo received 22 May 1944 from Signal Corps, released to public 26 May 1945 Čeština: Robert S. Johnson, americké letecké eso 2. světové války
context_page_description: Egon Mayer was a Luftwaffe wing commander and fighter ace of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was credited with 102 enemy aircraft shot down in over 353 combat missions. His victories were all claimed over the Western Front and included 26 four-engine bombers, 51 Supermarine Spitfires and 12 P-47 Thunderbolts. Mayer was the first fighter pilot to score 100 victories entirely on the Western Front.
  Born in Konstanz, Mayer, volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1937. Following flight training he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" in 1939. He fought in the Battle of France and claimed his first aerial victory in that campaign on 13 June 1940. Mayer was appointed squadron leader of the 7. Staffel of JG 2 in June 1941. Two months later, following his 21st aerial victory, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 August 1941. He claimed 16 further victories and was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 16 July 1942. In November 1942, Mayer was appointed commander of the III. Gruppe of JG 2.
context_section_description: Mayer was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) and was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe of JG 2 "Richthofen" in November 1942. On 23 November, Mayer claimed his first victories over United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) four-engined bombers, when he shot down two B-17 Flying Fortresses and a B-24 Liberator. Together with Georg-Peter Eder, Mayer developed the head-on attack as the most effective tactic against the Allied daylight heavy combat box bomber formations. The concept was based on a Kette (chain), three aircraft flying in a "V" formation, attacking from ahead and to the left. When in range, the attackers opened fire with a deflection burst, aiming in front of the enemy aircraft. Following the attack, the pilots would pull up sharply to the left or right. This gave the attacking fighters the best chance of avoiding the massed firepower of the bombers' guns.
  On 14 February 1943, Mayer claimed three RAF Hawker Typhoons, claiming his 60th to 62nd victories. Following his 63rd victory he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 16 April 1943, the 232nd officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht so honored. The presentation was made by Adolf Hitler in his office at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin on 11 May 1943. Mayer was then promoted to Major (major) on 1 June 1943. Fighter Command lost no aircraft on 14 February 1943. The previous day, it did report two Typhoons lost in combat with Fw 190s from JG 2—both pilots from No. 609 Squadron were killed.
  In June 1943, Mayer encountered Robert S. Johnson, a future ace from the 56th Fighter Group of the US Eighth Air Force. Johnson's Republic P-47D Thunderbolt had been badly shot-up by some Focke-Wulf Fw 190s during a routine mission. As Johnson limped home, with a canopy that would not open and hydraulic fluid and oil covering his windscreen, Mayer pulled alongside him in his Fw 190. Mayer looked the wounded P-47 over, and then circled to come in from Johnson's six-o'clock to give it the coup de grâce. The first gun pass failed to knock the heavy American fighter out of the sky. Mayer made two more runs on Johnson, without success. After running out of ammunition, Mayer pulled alongside Johnson, saluted him and headed for home. Johnson landed his plane, and counted more than 200 holes, without even moving around the airplane. He also saw that a 20 mm cannon shell had exploded just behind his headrest, which had made it impossible to open his canopy. Other authors have expressed doubt about Mayer's alleged encounter with Johnson. There is no direct evidence Mayer was involved in this battle. No III./JG 2 pilot is present on victory or loss records according to the most complete German sources.
  On 22 June 1943, a flight led by Mayer encountered an RAF Spitfire unit. During the course of the engagement, he claimed one Spitfire shot down and damage to another. He purportedly shot down three USAAF P-47s on 26 June 1943, though no claims can be found for Mayer in German records. Fighter Command lost five fighters on 22 June. Four were lost in action with Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing). The only unattributed loss came when Flying Officer J Watlington , No. 400 Squadron was shot down and captured. He was later repatriated in 1944.
caption: Robert S. Johnson in his Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, 13 April 1944.
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