Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident

This article covers the 20 December 1943 incident between Charles Brown and his Allied aircrew and German fighter pilot Franz Stigler, whereby instead of shooting down Brown's crippled bomber, Stigler took a humanitarian stance and escorted the bomber to safety. The matter came to renewed light following media attention in the 1990s.

Charlie Brown was an American military pilot with United States Army Air Corps who was stationed in RAF Kimbolton, Great Britain and assigned to bomb targets in Nazi Germany. Franz Stigler was a veteran Luftwaffe fighter pilot with 27 'kills'.^[1][2][3][4]

On December 20, 1943, Brown was ordered to fly his B-17 Flying Fortress to bomb an aircraft factory near Bremen. After dropping the bombs, Brown's plane was attacked by eight German planes and anti-aircraft fire from the ground.^[2] His plane soon sustained heavy damage, and most of its crew members were wounded. Three of the plane's four engines were destroyed or damaged. Brown believed that his gunners destroyed two enemy planes, but after that he blacked out and remembered waking up as the plane was flying low over a German airfield.^[2][1]

Brown's crippled plane was spotted by Germans on the ground, including Franz Stigler, who was refueling and rearming at the airfield. In his Messerschmitt ME-109, he soon was able to reach Brown's plane. Stigler got so close that he was able to observe not only the crippled plane, but also, through the holes in the plane's side, crew members trying to help their wounded.^[4] To the American crew's surprise, Stigler refused to fire on the plane. He remembered the words of one of his commanders, who said when at war in Northern Africa: "You are fighter pilots first, last, always. If I ever hear of any of you shooting at someone in a parachute, I'll shoot you myself." Stigler said, "To me, it was just like they were in a parachute. I saw them and I couldn't shoot them down."^[4] Twice, Stigler tried to get Brown to land his plane at a German base and surrender, but Brown refused because his wounded comrades were in urgent need of medical assistance.^[5] Stigler then flew near Brown's plane, escorting it until they reached the North Sea and departing with a salute.^[4]

Brown safely landed his plane in England, and at after-flight debriefing, told about the German pilot who let him go, but was told to forget about it. "Someone decided you can't be human and be flying in a German cockpit," he commented.^[4] Stigler said nothing to his officers.^[4]

After the war, Stigler moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. After Brown retired and moved to Miami, Florida, he attempted to find the German pilot who saved his life and the lives of his crew members.^[6] Brown eventually published a letter about the account in a German veterans' magazine. Stigler saw the letter and began corresponding with Brown. They met in 1990 and later made television appearances together.^[1]

Both Brown and Stigler died in 2008.^[1][5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Brent Gilbert. "WW2 German fighter pilot saved U.S. bomber crew". CTV News. http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20080511/franz_stigler_080511/. Retrieved April 4, 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Joyce, Terry (27 April 2001). "Pilot remembers act of kindness in brutality of war over Germany". The Post and Courier. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_G1JAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-goNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3907,4412179&dq=charlie-brown+franz-stigler&hl=en. Retrieved 13 May 2011. 
3. ^ Russell, James (December 28, 1995). "A life in the balance is spared aloft". Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-17954296.html. Retrieved 13 May 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Retired Air Force Pilot Owes His Life to a German Ace". Waycross Journal-Herald/Associated Press. 14 May 1992. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PVZaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=u0wNAAAAIBAJ&pg=4287,6808482&dq=charlie-brown+franz-stigler&hl=en. Retrieved 13 May 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Charles L. Brown Obituary". The Miami Herald. December 7, 2008. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/herald/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=121043278. Retrieved 13 May 2011. 
6. ^ "The Meeting" military.com Retrieved May 15, 2011