Stigler and Ye Old Pub

20th December 1943. The 379th Bomb Group is flying towards Bremen to strike a Focke-Wulf 190 production factory. One of the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses", "Ye Olde Pub" is being piloted by Charles "Charlie" Brown.

As they approach the target, the German 88mm Flak guns open of, choking the sky with deadly puffs of black smoke. The flak is so thick that Charlie can barely see through it. A shell explodes right in front of the Pub, causing the plexiglass window of the nose to come off and strike the cockpit; luckily the men up front are unharmed. However, cold air (-60°C) now flows through the entire plane. Another shell goes off and engine two dies. The plane rocks again as a shell tears through the left wing before exploding above. Shrapnel is thrown into engine four, damaging it. The Pub is struggling and Charlie is focused on keeping it straight. Then the lead drops their bombs and so do the others. The release of the heavy bomb load is a relief on the plane. The formation head for home.

However, the Pub is running on only two engines and is falling behind. Another B-17 is also damaged and falling behind. Soon, both are left behind. The second B-17 has a raging fire in one of its engines and it dives into the clouds, hoping to extinguish it. Charlie sees it vanish before there is a flash of red below. Just then, a squadron of Messerschmitt Bf 109s burst from the cloud where the B-17 vanished. At the same time, Focke-Wulf Fw 190s appear on the horizon. The Pub opens fire but is out numbered. Charlie speeds at the leading Fw 190s, catching them by surprise and causing them to miss their target. Top turret gunner Bertrand Coulombe takes down one whiles a second is taken out by the nose guns. The Pub still has some fight in it.

From behind, tail gunner Hugh "Ecky" Eckenrode attempts to fire on a Bf 109, but the oil in his guns has frozen. He signals this too Charlie who throws the plane into a dive. Bullets ricochet off the plane, damaging the ball turret. The gunner within is alright. The bullets tear half the rudder off of the plane. Radio operator Richard "Dick" Prechout tries to call for help, but the radio has been damaged and isn't working. Another volley of bullets tear into the tail and Ecky is killed. One by one the guns stop working as they jam up, the men within are all wounded by the attacks. Another attack is made on the cockpit, bursting Charlie's oxygen tanks. The plane starts falling, going into a spin. Charlie tries to stabilise it but with half a rudder it is nearly impossible. Charlie passes out from the lack of oxygen and the plane falls.

As it reaches lower altitudes, Charlie regains consciousness and sees the ground approaching. He pulls up and levels out. The plane is so low it blows roof tiles off the roofs of home in the city below. They regain some altitude before beginning to limp home. Only one obstacle awaits them now, the German Flak of the Atlantic Wall, which would surely take them down in this state. Charlie tells the crew that they can bail out, being a Prisoner Of War is better than death. But none do. As they fly, they pass over Jever airfield where German ace Franz Stigler is getting ready to take off.

On the 19 December 1943, Franz Stigler took down two B-17s. One more would earn him the Knight's Cross. Stigler had flown with some of the big name of the Luftwaffe like Hans-Joachim Marseille and Adolf Galland. He also lost his brother in the war and blamed himself (he was originally a flight instructor in the Luftwaffe and his brother was one of his students). As Ye Olde Pub flew over Jever airfield, Stigler took off in his Bf 109. He closed in, but the tail guns did not move; something was terribly wrong. Then he saw the damage to the plane. It was so bad that he could see the wounded men within. Just a few shots would take it down, but Stigler could not do it. His mentor and commander Gustav Rödel had once said to his pilots:

"If I hear of one of you shooting a man in a parachute, I'll shoot you myself!"

Those words echoed in Stigler's mind, to him shooting down this plane was like shooting down men in their parachutes. He flew up to the cockpit of the plane. According to Charlie, he was focused ahead when a 109 appeared in his vision. He closed his eyes and shook his head, hoping he had imagined it. But when he opened his eyes, it was still there. The two locked eyes and Stigler gestured for them to land, but Charlie was not having it and pushed on. Stigler knew they would never make it through the Atlantic Wall. Unless, he helped them. He pulled back and above the plane, escorting them towards the shore. Charlie had no idea what he was doing, not yet. As they passed the Atlantic Wall, no shots were fired as the flak gunners saw the German plane. Stigler flew up to the cockpit and the two looked at each other. Stigler dipped his wings, then saluted before turning for home. It was only then that Charlie realised what the German pilot had done.

Upon return, Charlie told his commanders what had happened and they told him no-one could ever know. Stigler on the other hand could not tell anyone or he could be killed for treason. Stigler would go on to fly in JV 44, Adolf Galland's jet fighter squadron and became friends with Galland. Many years after the war, he visited Galland and told him of the incident. Galland replied with:

"You did what you knew was right."

Stigler moved to Canada after the war and in 1990 went to a bomber crew reunion in the USA, he was the only German there. It was there he and Charlie finally met in person. After realising who each other where, the two men became good friends. Stigler would gift Charlie a book, inside was an inscription that read:

"In 1940, I lost my only brother as a night fighter. On 20th December 1943, 4 days before Christmas, I had a chance to save a B-17 from her destruction, a plane so badly damaged it was a wonder that she was still flying. The pilot, Charlie Brown, is for me, as precious as my brother was. Thanks Charlie. Your brother Franz."

Stigler never got the Knight's Cross but in his own words he got something better. The two men would remain friends before going on their final journey. Franz Stigler died on the 22 March 2008 (age 92), a few months later, Charles "Charlie" Brown died on 24 November 2008 (age 86).

The book "A Higher Call" by Adam Makos tells of the events of Brown and Stigler.

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