Photo cover: Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler during World War 2.

Text by Twitter/Knucklehe@d

December 20, 1943. A typical cold and foggy morning in Britain.

Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown, 21 years old, pilot of the 379th Fighter Wing “Ye Olde Pub” of the 527th Bombardment Squadron, enters the cockpit of the B-17F with his crew for his first mission.

He was about to become a participant in a unique operation, by the standards of that time, in the air war over Europe. His mission was to bomb the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 industrial production facilities in Bremen. The crews of the 527th had been briefed that they would face strong resistance from the German forces, who had over 250 anti-aircraft guns installed in the area and a significant number of fighters.

Upon arrival at the target over Bremen, and before he could even release his bombs, Brown’s bomber was hit by German air defense. One of the four engines was completely destroyed, another was malfunctioning, and the controls were now responding poorly. About 15 BF-109 and FW-190 fighters were now on his tail, pursuing him for over 10 minutes. Their fire destroyed the plane’s third engine. Among the crew, the tail gunner was dead and almost everyone was injured, including Brown, who had shrapnel in his right shoulder.

The only chance for survival in Brown’s mind was to try to escape the pursuit by abandoning the mission. With the bulk of the B-17 and the remaining firepower he had, he tried to break through the formation of the pursuing fighters to fly back to Britain.

At some point, Brown looked at the right wing of his plane and saw a German BF-109 fighter flying steadily beside him. The fighter pilot was Second Lieutenant Franz Stigler, one of the Luftwaffe aces with 27 kills to his credit.

Seeing the condition of the bomber and its injured crew, Stigler quickly realized that it was not a threat. So, he gestured to Brown to land on German soil, something the latter refused with a meaningful look. After Brown’s refusal, Stigler flew to the right of the nose and remained there steadily. In this way, he essentially prevented the German forces from firing at Brown, providing him with protection throughout the flight to the North Sea.

After a few miles over the North Sea, Stigler saluted Brown and changed course. Brown managed to land at Seething, Britain. This strange escort by the German fighter was reported to his superiors, but the document was classified as “confidential” so that it would not gain publicity and create “feelings of emulation” among the Allied pilots towards those of the Axis.

In 1986, Brown began searching for the anonymous German pilot. After four years, in 1990, Franz Stigler was still living in Canada. He responded to a publication by Brown regarding the event in a pilot community magazine. He sent a letter to Brown, writing, “I was the pilot.”

The two war veterans met and developed a friendship that lasted for 18 whole years. Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler would remain friends until both men died in 2008.

Sources:

Newspaper Surrey archive, British Columbia, Canada, Friday, December 24, 1993, Page 3

http://www.379thbga.org/war_stories.htm

https://chivalrytoday.com/Chivalry in the Air

https://www.theprospectordaily.com/2020/03/09/wwii-b-17-ye-olde-pub-visits-el-paso/