the Stigler-Brown incident @CbassProductions #shorts #ww2 #history

[johnathanross]

The fact that BOTH survived until the end and met back up decades later still brings a tear to my eyes

[porpus]

The German pilot was Oberleutnant Ludwig Franz Stigler. He was a decorated Ace in the Luftwaffe. Spotting the B-17 he closed in for what seemed an easy kill. However, paused when he noticed the tail gunner was slumped. Flying alongside the plane he saw how damaged it was, and the dead crew. The pilot of the B-17, Charlie Brown (real name), saw the fighter move alongside. Stigler would motion for Brown to land the plane. Brown refused, and expected to die. However, Stigler escorted the B-17 all the way to the coast to ensure they could make it home safely. Years after the war, Brown would post his story to a military magazine. Not knowing that Stigler actually lived about two hours away in Canada. The pair met and became great friends. Both passed away in 2008, just eight months apart from one another.

[kukukaka]

There are countless events like this that will never be told only forgotten with time

[thisalsandharu]

The Stigler-Brown incident is a remarkable story from World War II that highlights an act of mercy between enemy pilots. On December 20, 1943, American B-17 bomber pilot Charlie Brown and his crew were heavily damaged and struggling to return to base after a mission over Germany. They were spotted by Franz Stigler, a German Luftwaffe pilot.

Rather than shooting down the crippled bomber, Stigler, moved by the sight of the injured crew and the defenseless plane, chose to escort Brown's bomber out of German airspace. Stigler saluted Brown and flew away, allowing the B-17 to safely return to England.

The two pilots would not meet until decades later in 1990, when they reconnected and became close friends. The incident is celebrated as a powerful story of humanity amidst the horrors of war.

[rubyonrail]

Soldiers are not the enemies, politicians are.

[Holsteinvonheine]

"I never got the knight's cross, but in return I got something better."
-Franz Stigler

[jaisharma]

No one wants peace more than a soldier

[BadJuju-jcyq]

The fact that there are still people from both countries calling these two traitors and Nazis to this day is so sad.
These two men are the best

[softtaco]

24 minutes of suspense, 47 years of mystery, leading to 18 years of unbreakable friendship.

[Aranzahas]

Both passed away in 2008, may their souls be in peace 🙏🫡

[ska]

Brown's damaged, straggling bomber was spotted by Germans on the ground, including Franz Stigler (then an ace with 27 victories), who was refueling and rearming at an airfield. He soon took off in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 (which had an American .50 BMG bullet embedded in its radiator, risking the engine overheating) and quickly caught up with Brown's plane. Through openings torn in the damaged bomber's airframe by flak and machine gun fire, Stigler was able to see the injured and incapacitated crew. To the American pilot's surprise, the German did not open fire on the crippled bomber. *Stigler instead recalled the words of one of his commanding officers from JG 27, Gustav Rödel, during his time fighting in North Africa: "If I ever see or hear of you shooting at a man in a parachute, I will shoot you myself." Stigler later commented, "To me, it was just like they were in a parachute. I saw them and I couldn't shoot them down."*

[thomasloki]

i wished that this story would be in the series "masters of the air"... to show that not all german soldiers was nazis

[garychap]

_"To me, it was just like they were in a parachute. I saw them and I couldn't shoot them down."_ - Franz Stigler

[blackvan]

"Be strong enought to be kind" Damn that sentence fits right here!!

[lucapaolini]

Its horrifying how many people have been forced to go to war with each other when otherwise they would have been friends

[Ashin_Kusher]

Wow. When we realize that we are not the enemy, the world will be a completely different place.

[shackledkings]

A real warrior knows when the fight is over. No honor comes from killing a vanquished enemy, it only serves the ego.

[Apolloisbest]

Even in the height of war, men can still be compassionate towards each other when they are suffering....two heroes in a horrific moment of history

[skywalker-qmzi]

Generosity in the Skies of World War II
At that time, Charlie Brown (21) was behind the wheel of a B-17 from the 379th Bomber Group in Kimbolton, England. Apart from the condition of the entire fuselage being torn apart by bullets and flak, the compass was also damaged. Without this direction, the B-17 limped along, deeper into enemy territory.

As soon as the B-17 was seen flying over an enemy airfield, Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe (AU) pilot, Frans Stigler, was ordered to ambush it and shoot it down. "I have never seen a plane so damaged that it could still fly. The tail and rear were badly damaged, the tail gunner was injured, and the top gunner died with his entire body scattered across the fuselage. The nose was destroyed, the entire fuselage was full of bullet holes, " he recalled.

Even though the Me-109 was full of bullets, Stigler did not spit out a single bullet. Instead, he approached the B-17 and flew alongside it so he could see Brown clearly. Stigler gave Brown a scare while struggling to pilot his plane.
Realizing that Brown did not know which direction the B-17 was flying, Stigler motioned with his hand for it to turn 180 degrees. Stigler then guided Brown's plane slightly over the North Sea approaching England. He then saluted, turned the plane around, and returned to base.

After landing, Stigler told his commander that he had disabled the B-17 at sea. More than 40 years later, he has never told the truth about what happened.

He was rediscovered by Brown who did research on who his helper was. They met when they were both 80 years old at a reunion of the 379th Bomber Group, also with five other Ye Old Pub crew members. They are still alive because Stigler did not spit bullets into the B-17, just before Christmas, December 1943.

"I can't shoot them, it's the same as shooting someone who is hanging from a parachute, " he stressed.

Uniquely, Stigler and Brown were only about 321 kilometers apart from each other after the war. Stigler is in Vancouver, Canada, while Brown is in Seattle, United States. Both died in the same year, 2008. Frans Stigler died first on March 22, Brown followed in November.

[zhirong]

Humanity at its best. A true hero never fight an injured opponent. Respect