![]() Shaw's painting of Ye Olde Pub Being Escorted Out to Sea by Franz Stigler's ME-109. He moved his 109 a few feet away so the guys at the coastal defenses would recognize his silhouette and hold their fire. This angered Franz, but he felt that leaving the B-17 to face the coming flak alone would be the same as shooting it down. Franz noted the shock and fear on the pilots' faces and pointed to the ground. Charlie and Pinky expected Franz to destroy them. ![]() Pinky turned to see what Charlie was staring at and claimed they were living in a nightmare. They planned to stay together and help fly The Pub home. Pinky returned to the cockpit, announcing that none of the men wanted to jump. Franz nodded at Charlie, but Charlie thought he'd imagined it. He looked out the co-pilot's window to check on engine four and spied Stigler's 109, flying three feet from The Pub 's right wingtip, as if it owned the B-17. Charlie viewed the approaching coastline where Germany met the North Sea and knew the soldiers manning the coastal defenses would shoot them down. He planned to attempt a return flight back to England with Russian who was unconscious. They would be taken as POW's, but they would live. ![]() Franz's superiors had taught him "to fight with fearlessness and restraint, to celebrate victories not death, and to know when it was time to answer a higher call." Realizing the bomber held no threat to him, Stigler pulled up close to the co-pilot's window and stared at Brown.Ĭharles "Charlie" Brown had sent his co-pilot, Pinky, to give the crewmen permission to bail out. He remembered his dead brother and thought of what he would have done. He thought of his commander's threat - if Stigler ever shot an airman floating down in his parachute, the commander would shoot Stigler himself. Through the peeled away skin and torn fuselage, Franz saw the airmen tending their wounded crew members. If you missed Parts 1 and 2 of this fascinating story, you can find them here and here.įranz Stigler approached the wounded B-17 but noted the missing stabilizer and the dead tail gunner hanging over his machine gun. Stigler would have enough points to earn the coveted Knight's Cross if he shot down one more B-17. Brown and hundreds of other Allied pilots had completed a bombing run over Bremen, Germany, but "Ye Olde Pub" was so damaged, she couldn't keep up with the other B-17's and was left to be picked off by an eager German pilot. Our story ended last month when German fighter pilot Franz Stigler encountered American pilot Charlie Brown's wounded B-17 over the skies of Germany. Kimbolton at Sunset - Airfield Where Charlie Brown & His B-17 Crew Were Stationed in EnglandĬourtesy of American Air Museum in Britain.
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