Egon Mayer

Egon Mayer
Born (1917-08-19)19 August 1917
Konstanz, Germany
Died 2 March 1944(1944-03-02) (aged 26)
near Montmédy, France
Buried German War Cemetery St. Desiré de Lisieux, Normandy
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Luftwaffe
Years of service 1937–44
Rank Oberstleutnant (lientenat colonel)
Commands held 7./JG 2, III./JG 2, JG 2
Battles/wars
See battles

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Egon Mayer (19 August 1917 – 2 March 1944) 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" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) 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 (7th squadron) 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 (3rd group) of JG 2.

Mayer claimed his first victories over United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) four-engine bombers when he shot down two B-17 Flying Fortresses and a B-24 Liberator on 23 November 1942. Together with fellow fighter ace Georg-Peter Eder, Mayer developed the head-on attack as the most effective tactic against the Allied daylight heavy combat box bomber formations. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 16 April 1943 after 63 victories. On 1 July 1943, he replaced Walter Oesau as commander of JG 2. He claimed his 90th victory on 31 December 1943 and on 5 February 1944 became the first pilot on the Channel Front to reach 100 victories. Mayer was killed in action on 2 March 1944 while leading an attack on a USAAF bomber formation; he was shot down by P-47 Thunderbolt escort fighters near Montmédy, France. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Early life and career

The Hegau-Gymnasium in Singen

Mayer, the son of a farmer, was born on 19 August 1917 in Konstanz at the Bodensee. Konstanz at the time was in the Grand Duchy of Baden of the German Empire. Mayer grew up on his parents' farm named Hauserhof and spent his spare time at the glider airfield at the Bellenberg near Engen. He went to school at the Langemarck-Realgymnasium—a secondary school built on the mid-level Realschule to achieve the Abitur (university entry qualification)—in Singen. Today, the Langemarck-Realgymnasium, which had been named after the location of the World War I Battle of Langemarck, is the Hegau-Gymnasium.[1]

Following his graduation, Mayer volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe on 1 November 1937.[1] His military training began at the 2nd Air Warfare School (Luftkriegsschule 2) at Gatow, on the southwestern outskirts of Berlin.[Note 1] He was then trained as a fighter pilot and promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 August 1939.[1]

World War II

World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. Mayer received the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse) on 25 October 1939 and was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), named after the after World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, on 6 December 1939.[Note 2] For his entire combat career, with the exception of a brief posting to the fighter pilot school at Werneuchen, Mayer served in JG 2 "Richthofen". He claimed his first aerial victory on 13 June 1940 during the Battle of France, shooting down a Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 belonging to the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air).[1]

In the Battle of Britain, Mayer often flew over the English Channel as the wingman of Helmut Wick. He claimed three further victories in this campaign, all over Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfires, but was himself shot down or forced to land at the French Coast. Once he had to swim in the Channel for an hour before he was rescued. At the end of 1940 Mayer had four victories to his credit and JG 2 "Richthofen" was withdrawn from combat to replenish the heavy losses it had sustained. Following a short tour as fighter pilot instructor at the Jagdfliegerschule (fighter pilot school) in Werneuchen, Mayer was sent back to the Channel Front.[1]

On 10 June 1941, Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Mayer was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of JG 2 "Richthofen", based at Saint-Pol-Brias. He claimed his 19th and 20th victory on 23 July 1941 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 1 August 1941 after his 21st aerial victory.[1] He received the award with fellow JG 2 "Richthofen" pilots Oberleutnant Erich Leie and Oberleutnant Rudolf Pflanz on that day. The triple award presentation was recorded by the Deutsche Wochenschau (German Weekly Review), a newsreel series released in the cinemas.[3] His score had increased to 28 aerial victories by the end of 1941.[1]

Mayer received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 16 July 1942. On 19 August, his 25th birthday, Mayer shot down two Spitfires over Dieppe during Operation Jubilee, his 49th and 50th victory.[1]

Group commander

Combat box of a 12-plane B-17 squadron. Three such boxes completed a 36-plane group box.
1. Lead Element
2. High Element
3. Low Element
4. Low Low Element

Mayer was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) and was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe of JG 2 "Richthofen" in November 1942.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

On 14 February 1943, Mayer shot down 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.[7]

A fighter pilot sitting in an aircraft cockpit, shown in profile, viewed from the left. The pilot is smiling and waving his right hand in the air. The left side of the cockpit bears approximately 25 small black crosses arranged in five rows and five columns.
Robert S. Johnson in his P-47 Thunderbolt, 13 April 1944.

In June 1943, Mayer encountered Robert S. Johnson, a future ace from the 56th Fighter Group of the US Eighth Air Force. Johnson's P-47 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.[8]

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 shot down three USAAF P-47s on 26 June 1943.[7]

Wing commander and death

Mayer was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 2 "Richthofen" on 1 July 1943, thus succeeding Oberst (Colonel) Walter Oesau. Command of III. Gruppe was passed on to the Staffelkapitän of 8. Staffel, Hauptmann Bruno Stolle.[9] He claimed three B-17s shot down within 19 minutes on 6 September. The Eighth Air Force was targeting Stuttgart that day and lost 45 aircraft.[10] On 1 December 1943, Mayer shot down three P-47 Thunderbolts. His claimed aerial victories increased to 90 on 30 December 1943.[7] Mayer was credited with four victories on 7 January 1944, three B-24s and one B-17 shot down in the vicinity of Orléans.[11] On 4 February 1944 he claimed his 100th victory, the first fighter pilot on the Channel Front to achieve this mark.[7]

Mayer's final score stood at 102 when he was shot down and killed in action by a P-47 Thunderbolt near Montmédy on 2 March 1944. Flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 (factory number 470468), Mayer had led his Stabsschwarm (headquarters unit) and elements of III. Gruppe, 14 Fw 190s in total, in an attack on B-17s in the area of Sedan, but failed to detect the fighter escort of 29 P-47s 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above. His aircraft was seen taking hits at a range of 400 yards (370 meters) in the nose and cockpit. It made a violent snap roll and went into a vertical dive, crashing within 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) of Montmédy.[12] He was posthumously decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) that day.[13]

Recent research by historian Norman Fortier suggests that Mayer was shot down by Lieutenant Walter Gresham of the 358th Fighter Squadron of the 355th Fighter Wing. The claim is based on gun camera footage and recollections of Mayer's wingman, who was forced to bail out during the action.[14] Mayer was buried at the cemetery of Beaumont-le-Roger, France, and in 1955 re-interred at the German War Cemetery in St. Desiré de Lisieux.[15]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 102 aerial victory claims, plus five further unconfirmed claims. All of his victories were claimed on the Western Front and include 27 four-engined bombers.[16]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 14 West 3853". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.[17]

  This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Mayer an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day.
  This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Mayer did not receive credit.
  This along with the * (asterisk) indicates an Herausschuss (separation shot)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from his combat box which was counted as an aerial victory.
  This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Matthews and Foreman.

Awards

Notes

  1. ↑ Flight training in the Luftwaffe progressed through the levels A1, A2 and B1, B2, referred to as A/B flight training. A training included theoretical and practical training in aerobatics, navigation, long-distance flights and dead-stick landings. The B courses included high-altitude flights, instrument flights, night landings and training to handle the aircraft in difficult situations.[2]
  2. ↑ For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations see Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II.
  3. ↑ According to Matthews and Foreman, this claim was with III. Gruppe.[18]
  4. ↑ According to Matthews and Foreman, this claim was with 7. Staffel.[18]
  5. ↑ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 14:30.[18]
  6. ↑ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 18:36.[18]
  7. ↑ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 13:38.[18]
  8. ↑ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 16:29.[18]
  9. ↑ This claim is not listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.[36]
  10. 1 2 This claim is not listed by Matthews and Foreman.[32]
  11. ↑ According to Matthews and Foreman claimed at 12:50.[40]
  12. ↑ This claim is not listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.[39]
  13. ↑ According to Scherzer as Leutnant and pilot in the III./Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen".[46]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Stockert 1997, p. 124.
  2. ↑ Bergström, Antipov & Sundin 2003, p. 17.
  3. ↑ Weal 2000, pp. 78–79.
  4. ↑ Stockert 1997, p. 125.
  5. ↑ Berger 1999, p. 215.
  6. ↑ Forsyth 2011, p. 13.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Stockert 1997, p. 126.
  8. ↑ Johnson 1999, pp. 169–189.
  9. ↑ Weal 2000, p. 101.
  10. ↑ Weal 2000, p. 102.
  11. ↑ Weal 2012, p. 53.
  12. ↑ Weal 2000, p. 106.
  13. ↑ Obermaier 1989, p. 35.
  14. ↑ Fortier 2003, p. 122.
  15. ↑ Stockert 1997, p. 127.
  16. ↑ Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 821–823.
  17. ↑ Planquadrat.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 821.
  19. ↑ Prien et al. 2000, p. 116.
  20. ↑ Prien et al. 2002, p. 104.
  21. ↑ Prien et al. 2002, p. 150.
  22. ↑ Prien et al. 2002, p. 151.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Prien et al. 2003, p. 460.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 Prien et al. 2003, p. 461.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 Prien et al. 2003, p. 462.
  26. 1 2 3 Prien et al. 2003, p. 463.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Prien et al. 2003, p. 464.
  28. ↑ Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 821–822.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Prien et al. 2004, p. 287.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Prien et al. 2004, p. 288.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Prien et al. 2004, p. 289.
  32. 1 2 Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 822.
  33. 1 2 3 4 Prien et al. 2004, p. 291.
  34. ↑ Matthews & Foreman 2015, pp. 822–823.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Prien et al. 2010, p. 500.
  36. 1 2 3 4 Prien et al. 2010, p. 501.
  37. ↑ Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 1341.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Prien et al. 2010, p. 428.
  39. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Prien et al. 2010, p. 429.
  40. 1 2 Matthews & Foreman 2015, p. 823.
  41. 1 2 3 Berger 1999, p. 214.
  42. 1 2 Thomas 1998, p. 65.
  43. ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 299.
  44. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 531.
  45. ↑ Von Seemen 1976, p. 236.
  46. 1 2 3 Scherzer 2007, p. 531.
  47. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 68.
  48. ↑ Von Seemen 1976, p. 34.
  49. ↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 42.
  50. ↑ Von Seemen 1976, p. 16.

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Military offices
Preceded by
Major Walter Oesau		 Commander of Jagdgeschwader 2 Richthofen
1 July 1943 – 2 March 1944		 Succeeded by
Major Kurt Ubben
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