Egon Mayer

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.

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.

Born in Konstanz, Mayer, volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1937.

Following his graduation, Mayer volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe on 1 November 1937.

His military training began at the 2nd Air Warfare School (Luftkriegsschule 2) at Gatow, on the southwestern outskirts of Berlin.

Following flight training he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) in 1939.

He was then trained as a fighter pilot and promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 August 1939.

His classmates at Gatow included Gerhard Barkhorn and Julius Meimberg.

Mayer was selected for specialized fighter pilot training and was posted to the Jagdfliegerschule Schleißheim, the fighter pilot school in Schleißheim.

World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland, the day Mayer was on route to Schleißheim.

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 World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, on 6 December 1939.

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 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.

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).

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.

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.

On 10 June 1941, Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Mayer was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7.

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.