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As many know, in the year 1943, the Luftwaffe had already been reduced in number due to the failed campaign in the United Kingdom and in its participation by the Eastern Front and during "Operation Torch" where the United States made possible to expel them from Africa . As a result, the RAF and the USAF were able to fly over the German skies, but not without resistance.

Here is a particular case: "The incident between Franz Stigler y Charlie Brown".

What happen?

Easy and simple. After returning of a series of bombings, Charlie Brown suffered severe damage due to flakes of the Flak 8.8 cm, which forced him to separate from the formation of his squadron, a decision that would become worse ...

The bombers had begun their round of 10 minutes of bombing at 27,300 feet under the fire of anti-aircraft guns.

Even before he launched his charge, Brown's B-17 received impacts that destroyed the Plexiglas cockpit, engine number two stopped, number four was damaged and there were damages to the aircraft's controls.

Almost immediately, the solitary B-17, was found under a series of attacks of 12 to 15 aircraft Bf-109 and FW-190.
In the ten-minute assault, engine number three received impacts and the oxygen, hydraulic and electrical systems were damaged.

To complete the black panorama the controls of the airplane hardly responded.

The bomber's 11 defensive weapons were reduced by extreme cold to only the two upper turret guns and a nose machine gun.

The tail gunner was dead and all but one of the crewmen in the rear were incapacitated by injuries or by exposure to freezing air.

Lieutenant Brown had a bullet fragment in his right shoulder.

Brown was unconscious but regained consciousness just in time, when his plane began to enter dangerously chopped.

But while trying to return from the raid in Bremen to the security of the Allied territory after the mission, on December 20, 1943, the danger was not over.

Brown soon had another concern: a German plane was flying parallel to his - so close that the pilot was looking directly into his eyes and making great gestures with his hands, which only caused more fear to Brown.

The moment was fleeting, however, when the German quickly greeted the American plane ( called "Ye Olde Pub" ) before leaving, at times when one of Brown's crew was going to the upper turret to attack his enemy.


In the left, the german pilot Franz Stigler, in the right, Brown.



Illustrations of the incident

But that day ,while his Messerschmitt Bf-109 was approaching the American plane he felt something was wrong - the enemy plane was not attacking him; in fact, even without Brown's knowledge, his bomber had lost his tail machine gun compartment and one of the wings was badly damaged.

When Stigler got closer, he saw the tail gunner covered in blood and the outside of the plane had disappeared. And he saw the wounded, the terrified Americans inside, trying to help others attending to their wounds.

It was then that he remembered the words of his commander Lieutenant Gustav Roedel. "The honour is all here", had told to the young Stigler before his first mission.

His superior added: "If I ever see or hear that you attacked a man parachuted, I will shoot you."

"You will follow the rules of war by yourself - not by your enemy. You have to fight under rules to maintain humanity." His moral compass was more powerful than his need for glory.

"For me it would have been the same as shooting a parachute, I could not do it",
Stigler said

He ended up escorting the bomber for several miles out over the North Sea. But he feared that if he were seen flying so close to the enemy without attacking him, he could be accused - and he would no doubt be guilty of treason.

And when he saw a German anti-aircraft artillery emplacement in sight, he realized he had to make a decision. At that moment, the American gunner was preparing to aim a machine gun at him.

Stigler made his decision, greeted his enemy, waved his arms and told him to fly away from German territory and flyed away.

The battered B-17 managed to cross the 250 miles of the North Sea and landed in the Seething field in Norfolk.

As soon as he landed, Brown told his commander-in-chief about the encounter with the German pilot, but was instructed not to tell anyone for fear of spreading positive stories about German enemy.

In 1987, more than 40 years after the incident, Brown - who was still traumatized by the events of that fateful day - began looking for the man who saved his life even though he had no idea if his savior was alive, and less where the man in question lived.

Brown paid an ad in a bulletin dedicated to fighter pilots, saying only that he was looking for the man "who saved my life on December 20, 1943."

Stigler saw the announcement at his home in Vancouver, Canada - where he had resided after the war - and the two men both were contacted.

"It's like meeting a family member, like a brother you have not seen in 40 years", Brown said at the first meeting of the two pilots.


Stigler and Brown reunited with a picture that relives the moment.

Stigler revealed how he had been trying to escort him and that he retired when he feared he might be attacked. He told Brown he gestured with his hand in an attempt to tell him to fly to Sweden.

His story, narrated in the book 'A Higher Call', ended in 2008, when the two men died in a span of six months, Stigler at the age of 92 and Brown at 87.

In their obituaries, it is recalled that each mentions the other as their "special brother."

Hope you like it, mi mas lindo saludo.

Autor: KMS Bismarck

Adquisitor: Matias Dominguez

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