When a German Fighter Ace Spared a Damaged B-17 At Christmas

This is the remarkable story of Franz Stigler, a German Luftwaffe ace who flew a Messerschmitt Bf 109, and Charlie Brown, a 21-year-old American pilot commanding a B-17 Flying Fortress known as Ye Olde Pub.

Their unexpected encounter in the skies over Europe during World War II has become one of the most powerful examples of wartime chivalry, an unforgettable moment when humanity triumphed over violence, even amid the most destructive conflict in history. It serves as a lasting reminder of the importance of doing the right thing, especially when no one is watching.

How it Started

On December 20, 1943, B-17s of the 379th Bombardment Group were lining up to take off for a mission that would take them deep into German territory. Amongst these B-17s was a bomber nicknamed Ye Olde Pub, commanded by 21-year-old Lt. Charles Brown. It was Brown’s first mission in command of the Flying Fortress, and flying with him was a crew of nine others.

Hundreds of miles away, Lt. Franz Stigler was preparing for an arduous day of defending the Reich. He was an ace, an experienced bomber hunter, and by the 20th of December, he was three victories away from the Knight’s Cross.

The skies were already dense with flak when Charles Brown and his crew reached the city of Bremen, their bombing target. However, before they could drop their bombs, the aircraft took a nasty hit from the flak, which injured some of the crew. It also damaged the controls, disabled the second engine, and shattered the plexiglass nose. In this damaged state, Brown was unable to keep formation, and the bomber dropped back.

Trouble Up Ahead

The crew soon found themselves under air attack by over a dozen German fighters. During this intense engagement, Charlie Brown maintained control of the aircraft despite taking a bullet fragment to his right shoulder. He did extremely aggressive maneuvers to throw the German fighters off their aim. He momentarily lost consciousness during a steep maneuver and regained consciousness, leveling out at just around 1000 ft. At this point, the German fighters pulled away, thinking the B-17 was already in its death plunge. It was eventually decided that they would fly the bomber back to England as some of the crew were too seriously injured to survive bailing out from the aircraft.

Franz Stigler

It is here that Franz Stigler enters the story. His 109 was undergoing repairs due to a recent engagement when he caught sight of the lone B-17 flying overhead. After hurriedly completing the refueling and rearming of his aircraft, he took off in pursuit of the lone bomber.

As he closed the distance, though, his curiosity was raised when the bomber took no evasive or defensive action.  When he took a closer look, he saw the rear of the aircraft filled with bullet holes and flak damage, part of the tail was missing, and two of the engines were smoking badly. The bomber was in no fit state to defend itself.

Despite his actions being a caught martial offense, Franz held his fire, moving up alongside the bomber as he gestured wildly with his hands. Stigler was desperately trying to convince Brown to land his plane at a German airfield and surrender, or at least allow him to escort them to neutral Sweden.

Unfortunately, Brown and his crew couldn’t understand the signals. Realizing the Americans weren’t getting his message, Franz decided to fly his 109 alongside the B-17 as it made its way out of enemy territory so that German anti-aircraft guns wouldn’t fire upon it for fear of hitting their own aircraft.

The B-17 finally made its way out of enemy territory, and Franz returned to his airfield and never said a word of the incident. He served the rest of the war with the secret held close to his chest. Miraculously, Brown managed to fly the damaged B-17 to safety in England. He then debriefed the officers on his strange encounter. But after this, he was sworn to secrecy not to repeat the story to anyone.

Aftermath

Five decades later, when interviewed about his experience in the war, the incident of the strange German fighter revived itself in Charlie Brown’s memory, prompting him to search for his old savior. 

After four years, Franz Stigler was located in Canada, which ended up with the pair sharing a lengthy phone call where each man filled in the blanks of the other’s story. The men met for the first time in 1990 and immediately became close friends, forming a bond akin to brotherhood. In the subsequent years of their reunion, both men spend time traveling through North America to share their incredible story.