WWII's most incredible encounter?
01-14-2013, 12:35 AM
#1
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Joined APC: Dec 2012
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WWII's most incredible encounter?
69 years ago last month...
On December 20, 1943, the 379th Bomb Group (H) of the Eighth Bomber Command (U.S. Eighth Air Force) attacked Bremen, Germany. During that attack, Lt. Charles Brown from Weston, West Virginia, flying B-17F number 42-3167, witnessed an extraordinary act of chivalry by Franz Stiegler, the pilot of a Bf-109, who had taken off to attack his B-17.
As Lt. Brown guided his B-17, "Ye Olde Pub", toward the target...an aircraft factory...it was buffeted by flak. "Suddenly," he later recounted, "the nose of the B-17 was mangled by flak. Two of the four engines were damaged. The entire left stabilizer and left elevator were gone, ninety percent of the rudder was gone, and part of the top of the vertical stabilizer was gone."
The now straggling B-17 was then attacked by over a dozen enemy fighters (a mixture of Bf-109s and FW-190s) for over 10 minutes. More damage was sustained including number the three engine which would produce only half power. The bomber's internal oxygen, hydraulic and electrical systems were also damaged. The bomber's only remaining defensive armament were the two dorsal turret guns and one of three forward-firing nose guns (from eleven available). Lacking oxygen, Brown lost consciousness and the plane went into a steep "death spiral", but came round to find the bomber remarkably flying level at around 1000 ft. He regained the controls and began the long flight home in the shattered bomber.
Lt. Brown's life and the lives of his eight remaining crewmen now hung by thin cables that held their B-17 together. The wounded bomber now flew low over the coastal towns of North Germany, bearing the battle damage from the earlier battle at 27,000 feet. The Pub's crew was equally battered. Lt. Brown had flak in his shoulder. A 20 mm cannon had killed his tail gunner. One waist gunner had a severed leg and another was also wounded and shell shocked. The radio operator had a shell fragment in his eye. The ball gunner had frostbitten feet.
When their situation couldn't seem to worsen, they passed over a German airfield where Lt. Franz Stiegler was smoking a cigarette as his Bf-109 was re-armed. A squadron leader, he had already shot down two B-17s that morning - one more and he would earn the Knight's Cross. He jumped into his fighter and gave pursuit, the rudder of his plane bearing 25 victory marks from earlier combat missions.
Stiegler later described the encounter from his point of view. "The B-17 was like a sieve. There was blood everywhere. I could see the crew trying to help their wounded. The tail gunner was slumped over his guns, his blood streaming down the barrels. Through a gaping hole in the fuselage, I could see crewmen working frantically to save a comrade whose leg was blown off. I thought to myself, 'How can I shoot something like that? It would be like shooting a man in a parachute.'
Expecting the worst at any moment, Brown marveled as Stiegler flew wingtip-to-wingtip with his crippled bomber, close enough for the two enemies to see each other clearly. Having made his decision not to fire on the stricken bomber, the German pilot now escorted the struggling B-17 to the North Sea. Then, to Brown's amazement, the German pilot saluted, put his plane into a crisp roll, and flew away. Over the Channel a pair of P-47s joined up on the stricken bomber, and Brown and "Ye Old Pub" incredibly made it back to a British airfield.
When Franz landed he told his CO that the B-17 had been shot down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charles Brown and the remainder of his crew told all at their briefing, but were ordered never to talk about it.
40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who saved him and his crew. After years of research, Franz was found in 1990. He had never talked about the incident, not even at post-war reunions. In the years that followed, their friendship developed to the point where Stigler considered Brown to be as precious as the brother he had lost during the war.
Once again these two warriors met, over 40 years later, and this video was taken.
Luftwaffe Ace Franz Stiegler started flying gliders at age 12 and soloed in a bi-plane in 1933. He join Lufthansa, becoming an airline Captain before joining the Luftwaffe in 1940. There, he became an instructor, with one of his students being Gerhard Barkhorn, who would later become the second highest scoring Ace in history with over 300 victories.
Franz transferred to Bf-109 fighters after learning of the loss of his brother August, who died piloting a bomber shot down over the English Channel. Franz flew combat in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Western Europe. He served as squadron commander of three squadrons, #'s 6, 8, and 12 of JG 27 and twice a Wing Commander, all in Bf-109 fighters.
Franz formed EJG-1, possibly the first ever pre-jet training squadron before being hand-picked as the Technical Officer of Gen. Adolf Galland's elite JV 44, the "Squadron of Experts" flying the Me-262 jet. Franz was credited with 28 confirmed victories and over 30 probables. He flew 487 combat missions, was wounded four times, and was shot down 17 times...4 by enemy fighters, 4 by ground fire, and 9 times by gunners on American bombers.
He emigrated to Canada in 1953 and became a successful businessman. In addition to his many Luftwaffe decorations, he was presented with the "Order of the Star of Peace" by the Federation of Combatant Allies In Europe for his act of compassion on Dec. 20, 1943. He is believed to be the only Luftwaffe pilot to be so honored. He was also made an honorary member of the US 379th Bomb Group Association. He died in 2008 at the age of 93.
Charles Brown graduated as a US Army Air Force 2nd Lt. in April 1943. He arrived in England in early November of that year as a B-17 aircraft commander and was wounded twice in completing 29 combat missions out of 31 attempts (24 over Germany proper) with the famed 379th Bomb Group.
After retiring from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel, he accepted an appointment as a Senior Foreign Service Reserve Officer, serving for 6 years throughout Laos and Vietnam during the Vietnam war. After 30 years of government service he retired in 1972 and formed a combustion research company. He was belated awarded the Air Force Cross in Feb. of 2008 for bringing his badly damaged B-17 home to England during that fateful mission of Dec. 20, 1943. He died later that same year in November at the age of 86.
On December 20, 1943, the 379th Bomb Group (H) of the Eighth Bomber Command (U.S. Eighth Air Force) attacked Bremen, Germany. During that attack, Lt. Charles Brown from Weston, West Virginia, flying B-17F number 42-3167, witnessed an extraordinary act of chivalry by Franz Stiegler, the pilot of a Bf-109, who had taken off to attack his B-17.
As Lt. Brown guided his B-17, "Ye Olde Pub", toward the target...an aircraft factory...it was buffeted by flak. "Suddenly," he later recounted, "the nose of the B-17 was mangled by flak. Two of the four engines were damaged. The entire left stabilizer and left elevator were gone, ninety percent of the rudder was gone, and part of the top of the vertical stabilizer was gone."
The now straggling B-17 was then attacked by over a dozen enemy fighters (a mixture of Bf-109s and FW-190s) for over 10 minutes. More damage was sustained including number the three engine which would produce only half power. The bomber's internal oxygen, hydraulic and electrical systems were also damaged. The bomber's only remaining defensive armament were the two dorsal turret guns and one of three forward-firing nose guns (from eleven available). Lacking oxygen, Brown lost consciousness and the plane went into a steep "death spiral", but came round to find the bomber remarkably flying level at around 1000 ft. He regained the controls and began the long flight home in the shattered bomber.
Lt. Brown's life and the lives of his eight remaining crewmen now hung by thin cables that held their B-17 together. The wounded bomber now flew low over the coastal towns of North Germany, bearing the battle damage from the earlier battle at 27,000 feet. The Pub's crew was equally battered. Lt. Brown had flak in his shoulder. A 20 mm cannon had killed his tail gunner. One waist gunner had a severed leg and another was also wounded and shell shocked. The radio operator had a shell fragment in his eye. The ball gunner had frostbitten feet.
When their situation couldn't seem to worsen, they passed over a German airfield where Lt. Franz Stiegler was smoking a cigarette as his Bf-109 was re-armed. A squadron leader, he had already shot down two B-17s that morning - one more and he would earn the Knight's Cross. He jumped into his fighter and gave pursuit, the rudder of his plane bearing 25 victory marks from earlier combat missions.
Stiegler later described the encounter from his point of view. "The B-17 was like a sieve. There was blood everywhere. I could see the crew trying to help their wounded. The tail gunner was slumped over his guns, his blood streaming down the barrels. Through a gaping hole in the fuselage, I could see crewmen working frantically to save a comrade whose leg was blown off. I thought to myself, 'How can I shoot something like that? It would be like shooting a man in a parachute.'
Expecting the worst at any moment, Brown marveled as Stiegler flew wingtip-to-wingtip with his crippled bomber, close enough for the two enemies to see each other clearly. Having made his decision not to fire on the stricken bomber, the German pilot now escorted the struggling B-17 to the North Sea. Then, to Brown's amazement, the German pilot saluted, put his plane into a crisp roll, and flew away. Over the Channel a pair of P-47s joined up on the stricken bomber, and Brown and "Ye Old Pub" incredibly made it back to a British airfield.
When Franz landed he told his CO that the B-17 had been shot down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charles Brown and the remainder of his crew told all at their briefing, but were ordered never to talk about it.
40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who saved him and his crew. After years of research, Franz was found in 1990. He had never talked about the incident, not even at post-war reunions. In the years that followed, their friendship developed to the point where Stigler considered Brown to be as precious as the brother he had lost during the war.
Once again these two warriors met, over 40 years later, and this video was taken.
Luftwaffe Ace Franz Stiegler started flying gliders at age 12 and soloed in a bi-plane in 1933. He join Lufthansa, becoming an airline Captain before joining the Luftwaffe in 1940. There, he became an instructor, with one of his students being Gerhard Barkhorn, who would later become the second highest scoring Ace in history with over 300 victories.
Franz transferred to Bf-109 fighters after learning of the loss of his brother August, who died piloting a bomber shot down over the English Channel. Franz flew combat in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Western Europe. He served as squadron commander of three squadrons, #'s 6, 8, and 12 of JG 27 and twice a Wing Commander, all in Bf-109 fighters.
Franz formed EJG-1, possibly the first ever pre-jet training squadron before being hand-picked as the Technical Officer of Gen. Adolf Galland's elite JV 44, the "Squadron of Experts" flying the Me-262 jet. Franz was credited with 28 confirmed victories and over 30 probables. He flew 487 combat missions, was wounded four times, and was shot down 17 times...4 by enemy fighters, 4 by ground fire, and 9 times by gunners on American bombers.
He emigrated to Canada in 1953 and became a successful businessman. In addition to his many Luftwaffe decorations, he was presented with the "Order of the Star of Peace" by the Federation of Combatant Allies In Europe for his act of compassion on Dec. 20, 1943. He is believed to be the only Luftwaffe pilot to be so honored. He was also made an honorary member of the US 379th Bomb Group Association. He died in 2008 at the age of 93.
Charles Brown graduated as a US Army Air Force 2nd Lt. in April 1943. He arrived in England in early November of that year as a B-17 aircraft commander and was wounded twice in completing 29 combat missions out of 31 attempts (24 over Germany proper) with the famed 379th Bomb Group.
After retiring from the Air Force as a Lt. Colonel, he accepted an appointment as a Senior Foreign Service Reserve Officer, serving for 6 years throughout Laos and Vietnam during the Vietnam war. After 30 years of government service he retired in 1972 and formed a combustion research company. He was belated awarded the Air Force Cross in Feb. of 2008 for bringing his badly damaged B-17 home to England during that fateful mission of Dec. 20, 1943. He died later that same year in November at the age of 86.
06-01-2013, 09:44 AM
#9
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Joined APC: Oct 2010
Position: Airbus CA
Posts: 910
Agreed....just finished reading it. Great story and a lot of background on what it was like to be a Luftwaffe pilot. The authors recognize the difference between Nazi and German which a lot of WWII books don't seem to get.
Would also highly recommend the historical-fiction aviation writings of Derek Robinson, Piece of Cake being the most well-known.
Would also highly recommend the historical-fiction aviation writings of Derek Robinson, Piece of Cake being the most well-known.
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