See the Wikipedia articles on Franz Stigler, The B-17, Flying Fortress, and on the ME-109.įinally, see this interesting article on the psychological problem of killing in war: Īfter he flew ME-109's in combat, Stigler went on the fly the radical new Messerschmitt 262 powered by two jet engines. (Theme music)įor an account of the event that includes include images, click HERE. I'm John Lienhard at the University of Houston, where we're interested in the way inventive minds work. For Stigler's choice that day in '43 was the choice any of us hope we'll be able to make when our own chips are down. I am moved by the story of Stigler and Brown. (Images widely displayed in the Interenet, sources unknown) Left: Franz Stigler, Right: Charles Brown. Afterward, one obituary said he was survived by his wife, daughter, and Charlie Brown of Perrine, Florida. They became fast friends - brothers - staying in touch until Stigler died at 94. They finally met in a Seattle hotel, and something clicked. That's how, one day, Brown got a letter from Stigler. ![]() Did anyone know the pilot who'd spared Brown's airplane. A friend of Charlie Brown's finally wrote to a newsletter for German pilots. All the time he wondered if the B-17 crew had survived. It'd make the enemy look good and hurt morale.Īfter the war, Stigler left Germany, moved to Canada, and eventually ran a trucking company out of Vancouver. Meanwhile, the B-17 pilot, Charles Brown, got back to England where he was told to forget the story. Instead of punishment, he got medals and a chance to fly Germany's first jet fighter. He would've been accused of treason, so he said he'd shot the plane down over the Sea. He pulled alongside the bomber, now near ground level, caught the pilot's eye, escorted him to the North Sea, then saluted and turned homeward. Antiaircraft fire had wrecked the nose one engine dead and one dying tail gunner dead waist-gunners wounded wounded pilot struggling to stay conscious airframe riddled with bullets. He closed in, and what he saw was horrific. ![]() As he drew close, he noticed that the ever-dangerous tail gun wasn't tracking him. Now he'd been sent up to bring down a lone B-17. He was flying out of Holland, intercepting Allied bombers. He was clearly past any resistance to pulling the trigger. ![]() He flew over 400 combat missions, was shot down repeatedly, wounded four times, shot down some 45 Allied airplanes, and lost a brother early in the war. Over 30,000 were made.Īnd Stigler was a workhorse airman. He flew ME-109s, first in North Africa, then back in Europe. Then WW-II began and he became a fighter pilot. He became a civilian pilot and a flying instructor. ![]() Stigler took up flying in 1927 when he was only twelve. Stigler's father had been a pilot in WW-I, and he wanted to be one too. I recently read one such story about Oberleutnant Franz Stigler. Armies try to find means for breaking down their soldiers' resistance to killing.Īnd yet we're greatly moved when we learn of an act of mercy between enemies in the heat of combat. Killing one of our own species is an unnatural act. It's pretty common knowledge that soldiers, given a chance to shoot an enemy, often won't do it. The University of Houston's College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.
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