Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler | Forum

When you think of the Nazis, and their military might at the height of World War Two, you probably don't picture anything resembling compassion. Even less so when you might consider the ruthlessly efficient Luftwaffe, the German air forces. Occasionally though, an act of compassion will shine through- a moment of common human kindness in the darkest hours of war. This is the story of 2nd Lieutenant Charles "Charlie" Brown and Oberleutnant Franz Stigler.

The Allies were bent on smashing the Nazi war machine in Europe before any land-based invasion could even be considered. Further, the demolition of fuel and manufacturing centers would reduce the volume of equipment, and ultimately the effectiveness of the German Wehrmacht armies ruthlessly pounding the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. This meant that their attacks had to be mounted from the air, and be as relentless as possible- giving the Axis no reprieve to relocate, repair, or rearm their facilities. A 24/7 bombing campaign was launched against the whole of Fortress Europe, with the United States 8th Air Force sending bombers all day, and the numerically inferior Royal Air Force flying missions all night. Bombs were falling onto German industry around the clock, and the effects were immediate- the German war machine lost many key factories, resulting in major changes to strategies.

However, the Germans weren't going to let the bombers come and go without challenge. The Wehrmacht assembled some of the largest concentrations of anti-aircraft artillery weapons in history to defend the Reich, while the Luftwaffe poured it's fighter planes into the bomber conduits with the goal of shooting down as many bombers as possible, taking them permanently out of the war, and hopefully turning the tide of battle- perhaps even forcing the United States and the United Kingdom to reconsider their strategy.


The 88 millimeter anti-aircraft gun was Germany's most formidable weapon, able to accurately hit fast-moving, long-range targets with ease.​

These pilots were some of the Luftwaffe's finest. Sharp from battle against the Polish, Soviet, French, British and in some cases American air forces across the War up to that point, they were professional aircraft demolition experts. Their planes, like their pilots, were killing machines designed and honed for the task of demolishing their enemies.


ME-109G fighter, the workhorse fighter of the Luftwaffe for the bulk of World War Two.​

Franz Stigler was one such pilot, a veteran of the Eastern Front and North Africa, he was on the ground having his plane rearmed and refueled on December 20th, 1943 for the rest of a busy day blasting bombers. He had at that time 29 confirmed aircraft kills in his Messershmitt BF-109G fighter plane, a remarkable number, and only 1 kill away from the Knights Cross Medal, a very lofty honor within the Luftwaffe.

On this fateful day, 2nd Lieutenant Charles "Charlie" Brown and his B-17F "Ye Olde Pub" was sent with dozens of other B-17 bombers to attack the city of Bremen, and the Focke-Wulf factory there that manufactured the infamous FW-190 fighter plane. Brown's plane was the B-17F, a later variation of the United States Army Air Corps mainstay bomber the Boeing B-17. However, despite numerous technical improvements, the B-17 still relied on somewhat outdated bomber doctrine, was tremendously slow, and flew much lower than other USAAC bombers could fly. The B-17 could not outrun fighters, nor could it fly higher than they could reach as the late-war B-24 and B-29 bombers could, instead relying on a battery of machine gunners manning 50 caliber Browning machine guns to fend off attackers. In large numbers, the bombers would be able to shred most attacking fighters in a concentrated cloud of death.

The B-17F was the last B-17 model before the introduction of the "chin turret" of the B-17G.
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Despite all the B-17's bomb capacity and defensive firepower, the odds were not in Brown's favor. Shortly before they were to release their bomb load, a flak cannon blasted the nose cone from the B-17, knocking out it's bomb aiming system, as well as tossing the entire plane into disarray. The shell also disabled the number 2 engine, the inboard engine on the plane's port side, and seriously damaged the number 4 engine, the outboard engine on the plane's starboard side. Brown's plane was incapable of keeping up with the formation, and as he fell behind, became the target of sustained attack by ground-based anti-aircraft guns.

Things went from bad to worse when a pack of German fighter planes, mostly BF-109 fighters leapt onto the crippled bomber, shredding part of the tail and killing the tail gunner, before blasting apart the center section of the plane, and injuring every remaining member of the crew. Freezing, disoriented, some critically wounded, Ye Olde Pub seemed to be doomed.

Having watched part of the attack from the ground, Franz Stigler took his ready plane into the air, and he caught up to the crippled bomber- it was an easy victory for a career bomber destroyer. The Knight's Cross was as good as his.

However, as he approached the bomber, he was not attacked by any of the defensive gunners. They were either incapacitated by their injuries, or their weapons had ceased to function due to the serious damage done to the plane during the fighter run. Stigler, perhaps drawn in by curiosity, moved his plane in very close to the bomber, close enough to see the wounded men inside through the gaping holes in the air frame.

Stigler determined very quickly that the bomber was critically damaged, and he attempted to signal the pilots to land the bomber at a nearby German airfield and surrender. Ye Olde Pub's radio had been destroyed in the attack, and Brown and his crew were unable to determine what Stigler was trying to signal them to do, so they pressed onward towards Britain. Stigler, perhaps supposing they did not want to surrender to the Germans, attempted to signal them to fly towards neutral Sweden in the north- it would be a shorter distance, and the German defenders would be unlikely to attack an aircraft headed that way. The Swedish, in accordance with International law, would have tended to the men's injuries, and interred their weapons and equipment for the remainder of the war. However, again Brown and his crew did not understand what Stigler was trying to tell them, and they pressed onward right towards the bulk of German anti-aircraft defenses.

At this point, Stigler made a choice that very likely could have cost him his life. He could have shot the bomber down, and earned his Knights Cross. He could depart, and allow the Wehrmacht to destroy the bomber with anti-aircraft fire... or he could save them. Stigler moved his fighter into close formation with the bomber, and followed them towards the edge of German airspace. The German anti-aircraft guns would not fire on the bomber while a German fighter was in such close proximity, preventing them from destroying the crippled bomber. Stigler escorted the B-17 past the coastline, and out over the North Sea a short ways before Brown attempted to signal Stigler to depart by turning the B-17's dorsal machine gun turret towards him, but without shooting at him.

Stigler understood, and departed with a salute in what has to be one of the most surreal moments in World War Two History.

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Brown ultimately limped Ye Olde Pub the remaining 150 miles to a Royal Air Force base where the plane was deemed a total loss. Despite serious injuries, including the loss of the Radio Operator Dick Pechout's eye, only the tail gunner Hugh Eckenrode had been killed. Remarkably,  all the men would recover. Brown relayed his incredible story to his superiors, who believed him, but ordered him to keep quiet about it so as not to create any sort of positive sentiment about the Luftwaffe within either the USAAC or RAF, to which Brown complied for many years.

In 1986, Brown, now a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, recalled the event at a pilots reunion. The incredible story fascinated many, and Brown himself determined then to uncover the fate of the man who had spared his life. In 1990, he found him.

Stigler had served through the remainder of the war defending the Reich, flying a variety of aircraft, including the revolutionary ME-262 jet fighter, before joining the West German air forces. He then moved to Canada in 1953, before coming across Brown's story in the late 1980's in a pilots publication.

The two men became close friends, recounting their story to many before both men passed away only a few months apart in 2008.

When many recount the "Glory of War" or the "Finest Hours" of a battle, most think of soldiers fighting a last stand, or blasting through a fortified enemy, or defending something against all odds. Yet there is something somewhat more glorious, more noble about a man who took his hand off the trigger than any man that pulled it. To have your enemy who has come guns blazing to destroy your country at your mercy, and to let them go in their time of need- risking your own life by a firing squad in the process is more daring a feat than any battlefield lore I can think of.

The event has been the subject of numerous books, works of art, and is expected to be turned into a film in the next few years as well.

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While it is also the subject of a song by History/Metal band "Sabaton" titled "No Bullets Fly."

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History is marked with remarkable events, and incredible feats, but in terms of sheer bravery and compassion, this one is hard to beat. Thanks for reading!