Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident (1943)

Summary

Aerial Incident of WW2 The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident occurred on 20 December 1943, when, after a successful bomb run on Bremen, 2nd Lt. Charles "Charlie" Brown's B-17F Flying Fortress Ye Olde Pub of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was severely damaged by German fighters. Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler had the opportunity to shoot down the crippled bomber but did not do so, and instead escorted it over and past German-occupied territory so as to protect it. After an extensive search by Brown, the two pilots met each other 50 years later and developed a friendship that lasted until Stigler's death in March 2008. Brown died only a few months later, in November of the same year.[1][2] Charles Lester Brown (24 October 1922 – 24 November 2008)[2][3] was a B-17 pilot with the 527th Bombardment Squadron of the 379th Bombardment Group within the USAAF's VIII Bomber Command, stationed at RAF Kimbolton in England.[4] Brown was from Weston, West Virginia. Franz Stigler (21 August 1915 – 22 March 2008) was a veteran Luftwaffe fighter pilot attached to Jagdgeschwader 27.[5][6] Stigler was from Regensburg, Bavaria. At the time of their incident, Brown was 21 and Stigler was 28. The mission of 20 December 1943 was the Ye Olde Pub crew's first and targeted the Focke-Wulf 190 aircraft production facility in Bremen. The men of the 527th BS were informed in a pre-mission briefing that they might encounter hundreds of German fighters. Bremen was guarded by more than 250 flak guns. Brown's crew was assigned to fly "Purple Heart Corner," a spot on the edge of the bomber formation that was considered especially dangerous because the Germans often targeted the more vulnerable edges, instead of attacking straight through the middle of the formation. However, since three bombers had to turn back because of mechanical problems, Brown was told to move his plane up to the front of the formation.[7] Crew of Ye Olde Pub. Standing (l to r): Coulombe, Yelesanko, Pechout, Jenn...