What tactic did Egon Mayer use against the B-17?

In November 1942, German fighter ace Egon Mayer found the weakest point on a B-17: directly ahead of the aircraft. Defended by only four machine guns, the B-17's nose—and more importantly, the cockpit—was vulnerable to a frontal attack. Tested by its own creator, Mayer found the tactic worked extraordinarily well.

Together with fellow ace Georg-Peter Eder, Mayer developed the head-on attack as the most effective tactic against Allied daylight heavy bomber combat-box formations. On closing to firing range, the attackers opened fire with a deflection burst, aiming ahead of the enemy aircraft. After the attack, the pilots pulled up sharply, left or right, giving the attacking fighters the best chance of dodging the bombers' concentrated defensive fire. The maneuver demanded great skill and courage, since the German and American aircraft closed at astonishing speed: the German pilot had only a few seconds to aim, fire and break away before slamming into the bombers.

By December, the head-on attack had become the preferred method used by Luftwaffe fighter pilots to assault American heavy bombers. Casualties among bomber crews began to climb steadily, with B-17s being shot down with increasing regularity.